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Frontispiece — Bobbie. 

“ Is it all right at the house ? ” See p. 122. 



BOBBIE” 


t t 


^ STORY OF 

THE CONFEDERACY 


BY 

Kate Langley Bosher 

Author of ‘ ‘ When Love is Love ’ ’ 


ILLUSTRATED 


PHILADELPHIA 

HENRY ALTEMUS COMPANY 


LIBRARY Of CONGRESS 
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$£P. 13 »y 05 

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COPY 8. 

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Copyright, 1899, 

BY 

Katr Cairns. 


Copyright, 1905, 

BY 

Henry Altemus. 


/.V MEMORY 

OF 

THE DAYS THAT ARE NO MORES 

St St 









CHAPTER I. 



always said he never knew which 
was worse, his name or his nose; 
but as he could get rid of neither, 
he accepted both in his own bright, 
happy way, and that ended the matter with him. 

Peter Black had given him the name of Mars’ 
Bobbie to distinguish him from Mars’ Robert, his 
father, and it seemed to fit so exactly and suit so 
well his cheery, lovable little self as a baby, and 
later as a boy, and even on to young manhood, 
that no one thought of calling him anything else, 
or loved any other name half so well for him. 

He was such a long time in coming, he used to 
say laughingly, that when he did get here his 


7 


“ Bobbie.’* 


parents and friends and relatives, together with 
all the negroes on the plantation, thought he 
was going to be something extra ; and then to be 
called “Bobbie,” and to have a broken nose, was 
so hurtful to his vanity, that, after thinking the 
matter over, he settled it by deciding that never 
again would he allow the subject to enter his 
mind, with the result that he became more lov- 
able and loving than ever, and the secret of the 
charm all lay in the decision about his nose and 
name — he never thought of himself, but always of 
every one else first ; and that is why he was so 
loved — he was so brave and true and honest and 
glad always. 

“White Point,” where he was born, was the 
centre of the Rockland district ; and while the 
neighborhood in that section of the country was 
tolerably well settled, still the “ quality folks ” 
were not very numerous, and in a radius of some 
twenty miles there were scarcely half a dozen 
families that kept up any kind of an establishment. 
Consequently, with the exception of “ Grey 
8 


“ Bobbie.’’ 


Cliffs” — Dr. Trevillian’s place — “White Point” 
stood alone for a synonym of all that was grand 
and elegant, and as a gathering place for all the 
“bus heads” of the neighboring counties, as well 
as many cities. 

Over two hundred slaves were owned by the 
master, and the stables were reckoned the finest 
in the State, for the stock included many animals 
of well-known and enviable records. There was a 
private race-track at one end of the plantation, and 
when at the spring and fall meets the neighbors 
from his own and adjoining counties met at Mars’ 
Robert Tayloe’s, there were times to be remem- 
bered, and good old times they were ! 

The gentlemen brought their own horses and 
dogs, and in the morning after breakfast it was no 
unusual sight to see fifty or more blooded animals 
brought out by the stable boys and walked up 
and down for the inspection and discussion of the 
gentlemen who had come down to see their favor- 
ites ; and it was owing to one of these occasions 
that Bobbie made his nose immortal 


9 


“ Bobbie.” 


Though his eighth birthday had not yet been 
reached, he knew every detail of stable matters to 
what his mother thought an alarming degree, and 
the ambition of his life was to get astride a race 
horse. Never had he been allowed that privilege, 
though he had ridden bareback everything else on 
the place ; and when he heard his father discuss- 
ing, the night before the big race, the relative 
merits of his special pride — Dare Devil — as com- 
pared with Major Dalrymple’s Lady Virginia, he 
could stand it no longer, and he crept out to look 
for Peter Black. 

Had Bobbie known what an alter ego was, he 
would have said that Peter Black was it ; for one 
was the substance, the other the shadow ; and 
when Bobbie was wanted Peter Black was gen- 
erally called. 

By right of birth he really belonged to Sallie 
Tom, Bobbie’s mammy ; but for all other intents 
and purposes he was owned body and soul by lit- 
tle Mars’ Bobbie, to whom Mars’ Robert had riven 
him on the morning of the great day when the 

TO 


“ Bobbie.’* 


little master “done come.” The big master had 
made him creep softly in the missus’ beautiful 
room, and had shown him the new wonder, and 
told him that he was to belong- to him hereafter, 
and that he must always be very careful, and never 
let any harm come to him ; and Peter Black had 
promised solemnly, and walked out of the room 
as one would come out of a holy place, and no 
king on his coronation day was ever half so proud 
as he. 

Sallie Tom, his mother, was present at this 
installation into office, and she tried hard to con- 
ceal the pride she felt at the selection of the little 
marsa’s body servant. She said no word at the 
time, but when she got down to her cabin she put 
Peter Black on a chair and had a conversation 
with him. 

Peter was her one and only offspring, and 
though she loved him very much in her own 
peculiar way, it was something very different from 
the absolute idolatry she had for her master and 
mistress, and now for the little stranger that for 


“ Bobbie.’’ 


ten long years she had hoped and prayed would 
come to fill the sore need of a child up in the big 
house. 

There was a strain of Indian blood somewhere 
in Sallie Tom, it was thought, and the rest of the 
negroes were far more afraid than fond of her. 
They declared she “ cungered ” them, and some 
would have nothing to do with her ; and for that 
reason, though the best worker on the place, she 
had been put in the house by her mistress. At 
the birth of the baby she had been installed as 
nurse-in-chief, and from that hour she ruled as 
despot of the nursery kingdom. 

In more ways than one did she assert her Indian 
peculiarities. No one knew for certain that she 
possessed a drop of such blood ; but her hate 
once aroused was implacable, and her devotion 
once given was as intense as it was enduring and 
genuine. 

After the birth of the baby Sallie Tom moved 
up into the house altogether, but she was still 
allowed to retain her cabin, and there Peter Black 


12 


“ Bobbie.” 


slept at night, and there in her hours of recreation 
or investigation she went to look after her private 
matters and to see that all things continued in 
their usual spotless condition. 

On the afternoon of the day that made Peter 
Black henceforth the property of the few-hours-old 
heir, Sallie Tom interviewed her offspring as to 
the responsibilities and obligations now resting 
upon him as a body servant ; and if at the end of 
the interview Peter Black failed to understand 
what he was to be and to do, it was because he 
was only six years old, and not yet equal to taking 
life altogether seriously. 

One thing, however, he fully appreciated, and 
that was the old horse-hair whip that hung near 
the chimney corner. Sallie Tom took it down 
and shook it out in the air. 

“You see dis?” she said, as she arose from 
her seat to go back to the house. “You see dis 
heah, Peter Black ? Mars’ Robert told you to-day 
dat you b’long to de little marsa, now, and so you 
does. Yo’ foots is to run for him, yo’ han’s is to 


- Bobbie.” 


work for him, yo’ tongue is to talk up for him, yo’ 
eyes is to look out for him ; but you b’long to me, 
too, Peter Black, and when yo’ foots don’t run, 
and yo’ hands don’t work, and yo’ eyes don’t see, 
and you gets to any foolin’, den me and dis heah 
frien’ of yourn will hav’ suppin to say to you, 
Peter Black, and now go long wid you,” and 
Sallie Tom turned and threw her arms around 
him and hugged him passionately, and then sent 
him out to play. 

From the day of his induction into office Peter 
Black never gave cause for any regret as to his 
selection. His idolatry of his little master was 
almost pathetically absurd. It was he who called 
him Mars’ Bobbie, the day he crowed so lustily 
in his face, and the name seemed to fit so well 
the rollicking, laughing, happy little soul that it 
just stayed, and no one wanted it changed. When 
he first began to crawl it was over Peter Black’s 
back, and Peter’s was the only hand he would 
touch when he tried to make his first steps, and 
almost before he could call his mother he would 


14 


“ Bobbie.” 


cry for “ B’ Bac,” and “ B’ Bac” was always 
there. 

On up through the days of infancy the com- 
radeship continued to grow, and though Bobbie’s 
was the imperious one of babyhood, he loved 
Peter Black better than anything on earth, and 
shared faithfully every piece of cake or candy 
that was given him, and it was due to this abso- 
lute and complete submission to his will that Peter 
Black let his young master have his way about the 
horses, an indulgence which resulted in Bobbie’s 
broken nose. When the latter crept out of his 
room the night before the big race he made Peter 
Black promise to wake him up the next morning 
at 4 o’clock. “Pm not going to tell you what 
for,” said Bobbie, “but you wake me up and 
Peter Black did as he was bidden. 

Together they crept through the house and 
down to the stables, and then Bobbie told his 
plans. “ Major Dalrymple said last night he 
knowed Lady Virginia was a-going to beat the 
whole place, and I know there ain’t a horse in the 


“ Bobbie.” 


world that can beat my father’s Dare Devil, and 
I just want to tell him so, and I’m going to try 
and see. You must get on Lady Virginia and I 
will ride Dare Devil ; and don’t let’s hav^e any 
saddles, ’cause my feet don’t touch.” 

They almost ran as they talked, and it was in 
vain that Peter Black protested and begged his 
little master not to do so dreadful a thing ; but 
Bobbie’s blood was up, and words had no effect. 
They opened the stable and led out their favorites 
to the track, and slipped up on their backs. 
“ Now, when I count three you let her go, and 
you make her^?, ’cause I don’t want to win easy. 
If I come back here first, / beat ; if you first, then 
I’ll tell father it’s no use. Now, listen. One, 
two ” — Bobbie’s voice trembled with excitement — 
“three ! ” — and they were off. 


16 


CHAPTER II, 


HEY said afterward that the big race 
wasn’t half so exciting as this one 
witnessed by an unexpected audi- 
ence. They had hardly mounted 
their horses and gotten under way before several 
of the stable boys and the visiting grooms were 
rushing wildly to the track. The horses had been 
missed at once, and already up to the house the 
message had been sent that Mars’ Bobbie and 
Peter Black were racing. 

Hardly waiting to slip on their clothes, down 
came Mr. Tayloe and Dr. Trevillian, followed by 
some three or four of the gentlemen guests and 
numerous servants, all making madly for the race 
track. 

Both children could be distinctly seen, though 
now half way round the bend, and breathlessly 
the men stood and watched. Mr. Tayloe’s face 



2— u Bobbie” 


17 



“ Bobbie.” 


was deathly white, and his hands shook as he 
grasped the gate-postr at the entrance to the track. 
The rest, however, had forgotten who were on 
the horses. It was a race that they were watch- 
ing, and so intense was the interest that they 
almost held their breath as again the children 
appeared in sight, for neck and neck they were 
going now. Both horses were being ridden at 
break-neck speed. All sense of servant and 
master was forgotten in Peter Black’s and Bob- 
bie’s minds ; it was a race to win, and all else save 
winning was driven out. Nearer and nearer they 
came, and up through the stillness of the early 
morning could be heard the ringing of the horses’ 
hoofs upon the hard-packed track ; and now they 
could see that each was stretched almost flat upon 
the back of his horse, holding on in some myste- 
rious way known only to himself. 

Neck and neck they still held, and though 
Major Dalrymple felt afraid of an accident, he 
mentally determined that if Tayloe wanted to get 
rid of Peter Black after this escapade, he would 
18 


“ Bobbie.” 


buy him and have him trained for a jockey. He 
had the making of one in him, and Lady Virginia 
was doing well, even as it was. 

On they came, and instinctively the men and 
stable hands breathed hard. For the life of them 
not one could say which he thought would come 
in ahead. Louder and louder sounded the hoof- 
beats on the hard earth ; and though his heart 
was beating almost out of his bosom, even Mr. 
Tayloe could scarce repress a smile when he saw 
the eager excitement on his little son’s face as he 
neared the stretch that would decide the race. 
Peter Black was losing his head, but Bobbie 
leaned still lower and touched Dare Devil on the 
forehead, as he was accustomed to do in the sta- 
bles, and then he saw the crowd at the gate and 
his father’s white face among them. “ Dare Devil, 
we must!" he cried, almost frantically. “Don’t 
you see father ? We must ; ” and he bent his feet 
against his flanks, and Dare Devil gave a great 
leap — and Peter Black was behind ! 

The men set up a shout, and Dare Devil, 
19 


“ Bobbie.” 


almost maddened, kept up his wonderful speed, 
and in a moment it was over — the goal was 
reached, and Bobbie had loosened his hold and 
was shouting wildly to his father, when Dare 
Devil gave another spurt — and Bobbie lay on the 
ground, flung against the fence. Every man 
rushed quickly to the spot ; but already his father 
had him in his arms, and Dr. Trevillian was bend- 
ing over him. Peter Black was there, too, and 
they said afterward that he was as white as Bob- 
bie. It was quite five minutes before they brought 
him to, and his first words caused a great cheer 
to break the awful stillness that had followed his 
fall. “We beat him father ! tell him so ; tell him 
that Dare Devil can beat them all ! ” he cried ; 
and then he lifted his hand to his face and saw 
the blood with which it was stained. 

“ What is it ?” he asked, trying to rise, and look- 
ing at it again wonderingly. “Oh, father,” he 
pleaded, “ don’t tell mother ’bout the blood — take 
me down to Sallie Tom’s cabin — don’t let mother 
see it — you can do anything you want with me, 


20 


“ Bobbie.” 


father,” he continued, and he tried hard to look 
up bravely in the latter’s face, “ only don’t let 
mother know I am hurt, and don’t punish Peter 
Black. I made him do it — he didn’t want to, and 
he’s mine, you know father, and you haven’t the 
right.” He watched his father’s face eagerly. 
“Promise me,” he cried, “promise me.” And 
though his father had an intense desire to see 
Peter Black soundly thrashed, he knew he had no 
right to do it, for he had simply obeyed his little 
master, as he himself had ordered him to do. 

Up at the house there was great excitement 
when it was known that Bobbie’s nose was bro- 
ken, and more than ever was his sway over the 
household absolute and entire, as he lay for a few 
days a prisoner in his little bed, waiting for the 
great surgeon from the North to come down and 
make it all straight and well again. 

That night his mother knelt by his bed and 
held him passionately to her heart and thanked 
God that he was still her own, and then she asked 
him what he most wanted to play with while he 


“ Bobbie.” 


was waiting to get well, and his answer brought 
the first tiny twinge of jealousy of which she had 
ever been conscious. “ I want Dorothy, mother,” 
he said, putting his arms around her neck in his 
old sweet, baby way. “I want Dorothy most of 
all. I’m sorry she ain’t a boy as big as me — but 
maybe I’ll be glad she is a girl when she gets big- 
ger — for I’ll have to have a sweetheart, won’t I, 
mother?” But before she could answer he was 
fast asleep in her arms. The seed, however, had 
fallen on fruitful ground, and with a sigh of which 
she was half ashamed, his mother began to think 
it would not be so very long before her realm in 
her boy’s heart would be invaded, and she no 
longer reign supreme. 

The same night she told her husband of Bob- 
bie’s wish, and also what he had said, and together 
they laughed at the way he regarded the inevita- 
bility of a sweetheart, and though neither said 
anything more, it seemed too absurd to discuss 
children scarce seven and three years old — still 
the idea took root, and the hope was born that 



“ Louder and louder sounded the hoof-beats.” 

23 





“ Bobbie.” 


some day Bobbie and Dorothy would keep up 
the life in the big house when they were growing 
old, or when, perchance, they had passed away. 

Dorothy came the next day, Dr. Trevillian 
bringing her over himself in answer to the urgent 
note sent him by Bobbie’s father, and for a week 
the two were blissfully happy. At the end of that 
time Dorothy was taken back, the promise that she 
should come again being the only way of stopping 
her sobs at parting. Bobbie was standing in the 
doorway with his hands clutched closely together, 
trying hard to keep back the tears ; but when the 
carriage was lost sight of by a turn in the road, 
he ran to his mother and buried his head in her 
lap. “He can take her from me now, ’cause I’m 
little and can’t help it,” he blurted out, gulpingly, 
“but when we get bigger I won’t let any man, 
not even her father, take her from me ; for, mo- 
ther,” and he slipped up into her lap and locked 
his arms around her neck, “if I tell you some- 
thing will you promise not to tell — not even 
father?” and he whispered something solemnly in 
24 


“ Bobbie.” 


her ear, and his mother laughed and kissed him, 
and held him a little closer to her heart. 

When Dr. Trevillian put his little daughter into 
the carriage and started off for home, he won- 
dered why he had been fool enough to let her stay 
away from him and her own home for seven long 
days, and then when he saw the beautiful baby 
eyes, with their wondrously beautiful lashes all filled 
with tears, and heard the little catch in her voice 
because she was leaving her playfellow, he felt him- 
self a selfish brute, and his heart smote him at the 
thought of the loneliness of his motherless child. 

The Tayloes and Trevillians had been friends 
loyal and true for generations back, but only of 
late had the Doctor begun again to visit “ White 
Point.” After the terrible shock of his wife’s 
death he had refused to go among his former 
friends or take up his old life as before, and not 
until Dorothy was nearly three years old did he 
realize the error of his way, or the injustice to 
his child that such a life entailed. He began 
gradually to resume his practice and to visit a 

25 


“ Bobbie.” 


little, and when he yielded to Mr. Tayloe’s re- 
quest that Dorothy should come and pay them a 
visit, it was only after a severe struggle and the 
urgent pleading of his maiden sister that the child 
should have this pleasure, that he finally gave in, 
and the pain it cost him to let her go was known 
only to himself. 

And that was the way it went on. Year in and 
year out they grew up, seeing each other so con- 
stantly that no thought of either was ever kept 
from the other ; and while over everybody else in 
the house and neighborhood Bobbie reigned su- 
preme, to Dorothy alone did he succumb, and mer- 
cilessly she tyrannized over him with all the incon- 
sistency of the woman nature that was in her. 


26 


CHAPTER III. 



||OBBIE was sixteen when his father 
finally made up his mind to send 
him to college. It nearly broke his 
mother’s heart, to say nothing of the 
terrible blow it was to Peter Black and Sallie Tom, 
who still kept up their passionate love for the 
boy ; yet it was admitted by all that the going 
was a necessity. Bobbie simply would not study 
at home. By dawn of the day he was off on his 
horse, and every inch of ground for miles around 
was as familiar as the lawn in front of the house. 
Every bend of the river with all its fish, every bird 
that flew, every insect that hummed, and every 
kind of game in the woods, were as near and 
dear to Bobbie and Peter Black as old and tried 
friends ; and though his progress with his tutors 
was not always as great as it might have been, 
his tall, straight body, his supple limbs, and his 
27 


“ Bobbie. ” 


clear eyes and bright, clever face more than re- 
paid for the neglect of his books. 

His father had a serious talk with him before 
he left, and Bobbie’s face took on a new expres- 
sion while he listened. “All right, father,” he 
said when he left him, “ I know it’s time for 
me to study now, and you shan’t be ashamed of 
me when I come back and his father was satis- 
fied, for Bobbie’s word, once given, he knew 
would never fail. 

Such a time there was the day he left ! Had 
the sun been in an eclipse, and all the world in 
total darkness, there could not have been greater 
gloom than that which pervaded the entire house- 
hold, with all the cabin contingent, on the morn- 
ing he was to leave. Bobbie’s heart was out of 
its accustomed place, and stuck so persistently in 
his throat that he found talking difficult. The 
remembrance of his mother’s face, he felt would 
go with him through life, and the intense doleful- 
ness of Peter Black was oppressive. Sallie Tom 
was a kind of night-mare. So heartily did she 
28 


“ Bobbie.” 


disapprove of this move of the master that she 
had kept away as long as possible, but now that 
her idol, her pride, was leaving, she could hold 
out no longer. Like a cyclone she rushed through 
the line of darkies, all drawn up by the big gate 
waiting to see the young master off, and in a min- 
ute she had him in her arms and almost off his 
feet. “ Gord A’ mighty tek care of my chile!” 
she sobbed, rocking him backwards and forwards 
in a way highly uncomfortable to poor Bobbie, 
who yet had not the heart to rebuff her. “ Gord 
A’ mighty tek care of my po’ chile, gwine out 
alone, all by hissef, and bring him back to his old 
mammy!” and she strained him passionately to 
her heart, and with a cry of real anguish she let 
him go and rushed wildly down to her cabin, and 
for two days nobody saw Sallie Tom. 

At last all the partings were over and Bobbie 
and his father had waved as long as they could 
see them, to the waiting crowd, and then a silence 
long and oppressive fell upon both. Bobbie dared 
not trust himself to speak, and his father was 


“ Bobbie.” 


watching solicitously one of the back wheels of 
the carriage, and only the hoarse, choky “ Git up 
dar, Jonah, git up, you Whale, you,” of Uncle 
Lias as he jerked the horses, trying to make out 
there was nothing unusual in the trip they were 
taking, broke the stillness of the air. A turn in 
the road, however, made Bobbie start, and caused 
his heart to give an extra leap. There, waiting 
under the big willow down by the river road, were 
Dr. Trevillian and Dorothy, and the former called 
cheerily that they were waiting to ride part of the 
way as escort, and to his dying day Bobbie never 
forgot this gracious act of letting him see Dorothy 
once more before leaving. He had left her the 
night before just at twilight, but a new feeling pos- 
sessed him as he saw her now sitting so quietly, 
yet so firmly on the little pony he had broken and 
trained for her until safe for her to ride. 

Ever since the day his nose was broken, and 
she had come over to play with him, she had pos- 
sessed him absolutely and entirely, and no tree 
was ever too high to climb for birds’ eggs for 


“ Bobbie.” 


Dorothy ; no briars ever too sharp to hunt for the 
berries and flowers and nuts she liked the best, 
and no trouble ever too great to take, if only she 
were pleased ; but it was simply as comrades, as 
boy and girl, that they had played and quarreled 
and made up again, but to-day it was different. 
Bobbie felt it, but did not understand — he only 
had a fierce desire to take that gawk of a fel- 
low, John Coxe, away with him — he would be 
finding all the flowers that Dorothy loved, and 
would get all the chinquapins and chestnuts from 
Pebble Hollow now, and he would be far, far 
away. They had both been shy and unlike them- 
selves last night. Bobbie had slipped over early 
to tell her good-bye, and they had stayed down at 
the spring until almost dark and talked over all 
the foolish little nothings that neither was inter- 
ested in, and Bobbie had almost kicked out the 
toe of his boot against the pebbles trying to ap- 
pear natural. “I’m awfully sorry you’re going,” 
said Dorothy, at last, making a desperate effort, 
however, to look as if she did not mind much. 


“ Bobbie.” 


“ There won’t be anything to do now except to 
think about Christmas, and after Christmas the 
summer, and that seems like a hundred years off,” 
and as the blankness all came over her, she threw 
herself down on the grass and forgot to make 
believe anything except that she was lonely and 
miserable, and didn’t want Bobbie to go, and in a 
minute he was down there beside her, and both 
were fighting desperately hard to keep back the 
tears, and Bobbie tried to say something to her 
and he couldn’t — he could only choke and then 
get angry with himself, and then he told her he 
must go, and he put his arms around her and 
kissed her. 

And now when he saw her sitting so easily on 
her horse, waiting for him, his heart gave a great 
leap. They merely nodded to each other, and 
Dr. Trevillian became actually merry and jolly in 
his efforts to keep up the spirits of the party. 
He would miss the lad sorely. He knew how his 
old friend’s heart ached at the thought of sending 
his boy out into the world, and he felt keenly for 


“ Bobbie.” 


him, but it would never do to show it now. Doro- 
thy and Bobbie talked but little, and soon they 
reached the point where they must separate. 
Bobbie took off his hat and shook hands with Dr. 
Trevillian. “I have a favor to ask of you, Doc- 
tor, ” he said in his frank, fearless way, “Will you 
let Dorothy write to me sometimes, and will you 
object to my telling her about the college, and the 
boys, etc.? I wouldn’t expect her to do it often,” 
he went on, trying to repress the eagerness in his 
voice, “but I would thank you very much.” Dr. 
Trevillian looked a little taken back at this modest 
request, and he hesitated a moment, and then he 
saw Bobbie’s eager face and Dorothy’s flushed 
one, and he thought it would be no harm. “Very 
well,” he said, “I will make it a reward of merit, 
if you make a certain average with your studies, 
of which your father will tell me, and Dorothy 
makes the same with hers, once a month you shall 
each send a letter — is that satisfactory ?” and the 
Doctor wrung the boy’s hand until it almost hurt. 

“Perfectly,” answered Bobbie, returning the 

3 — “Bobbie” 33 


Bobbie.” 


pressure gratefully, “and I thank you very much. 
I promise you my letters will always come — will 
you promise also, Dorothy?” 

And Dorothy nodded, and without waiting to 
say good-bye, touched her horse with her whip, 
and was far down the road before her father had 
finished shaking hands with Mr. Tayloe. 


34 


CHAPTER IV. 


T was five years before the coming 
home, and the going away of Bob- 
bie ceased to be the principal event 
of the year, both at “White Point” 
and “ Grey Cliffs,” and in fact to the whole neigh- 
borhood, and from the date of one arrival until the 
next all events and happenings were reckoned, 
for a truly royal time was made of these home- 
comings ; and merry-makings such as never will 
be the same again, were indulged in to an unlim- 
ited degree. From morn till night was one con- 
tinual round of pleasure, and nothing was ever 
too much trouble if it contributed to the young 
people’s enjoyment. 

“He works so hard all during the session,” said 
Bobbie’s mother, when his father was mildly re- 
monstrating on the unceasing frolicking. “You 
know how splendidly he has done at school, how 

35 



“ Bobbie.” 


he never fails at anything, and now we must let 
him have all the relaxation he needs, poor dear, 
and there can possibly be no harm, for Dorothy 
is always along.” 

Her husband smiled a little as he stooped to 
fasten his stirrup straps. “Yes, fortunately there 
is Dorothy, and if it were not for her I wouldn’t be 
quite so sure of all those good reports we’ve been 
getting. He knows thpre would be no letter 
without them, and no letter would be Bobbie’s 
worse punishment.” 

They looked at each other and laughed softly, 
and then he stooped over and kissed her. 

It was his fourth Christmas holiday that Bobbie 
noticed a great change in Dorothy. He was 
greatly changed himself — stronger, taller, and 
straighter than ever, yet with more grace and 
ease, and the polish that comes with constant 
contact with gentlemen of his own class, and 
through it all ran the old, sweet charm that made 
all who came near him love him. The strong will 
of which he was possessed was evidenced more 
36 


“ Bobbie.” 


than ever in the firm lines about his mouth, but 
Bobbie himself did not realize this, he saw only 
the change in Dorothy. 

It was Christmas eve, and the night of the 
annual big party given in his and his friends’ 
honor. He had not seen her since he had gotten 
home. He had ridden over early in the morning 
and later, in the afternoon, and each time he had 
been told she was too sick to see him, but was 
trying to get well enough to come over at night, 
and now, as he stood watching the different peo- 
ple enter, he was full of miserable uncertainty as 
to her coming ; and if she didn’t, why, what was 
the use of all this to do ? He had brought home 
six of his college chums for the holidays, and a 
finer looking set of young men would be hard to 
find, thought Mr. Tayloe, as he watched them 
grouped together near the huge fire-places in the 
big parlors now a blaze of light, and filled, in 
every niche and corner, with Christmas greens. 
Over the doors and on the walls, and banked 
about the mantels were great festoons of holly, 
37 


“ Bobbie.” 


while a mass of foliage out in the beautiful old 
hall hid completely from sight the musicians sta- 
tioned behind it. Through the opened doors 
could be seen the people going up the wide stairs 
to leave their wraps, and now they were coming 
in, and Bobbie and the boys had to take their 
positions by Mrs. Tayloe for awhile, and very 
soon the rooms were crowded with all the country 
folks and many strangers besides, and still no 
sign of Dorothy. Bobbie was beginning to get 
restless. He had a cordial, merry greeting Tor 
all, but his eyes were constantly watching the 
staircase. What if, after all, she did not come ! 
Presently his heart gave a great bound — nobody 
but Dorothy held her head like that, though all 
he could see was a mass of soft, white, fluffy stuff 
that enveloped from head to foot the figure trying 
hard to get up the stairs, but who at every step 
was stopped and spoken to by others coming or 
going. 

Presently she was in the room, and Bobbie 
wanted to push everybody aside and go to her 

3 » 


“ Bobbie/’ 


and take her away — away from all this noise and 
music and crowd, and have her to himself ; but, 
instead, he never moved an inch, only his face 
grew white, and he was ashamed of the furious 
beating of his heart. She was trying to come 
with her father, whose arm she held, to speak to 
his mother and the rest ; but immediately she was 
surrounded and almost hopelessly entangled as 
she laughingly tried to make her way through the 
crowd. Bobbie leaned carelessly against the 
mantel and awaited her coming with apparent 
quiet. She was a revelation to him to-night. 
Surely it must be another Dorothy ! The one he 
had left in the early fall was a girl — this one was 
a woman. Bobbie did not know where the charm 
lay ; he saw it all in a flash — the long dress, the 
different arrangement of the hair, and the manner 
that comes with the wearing, filled him with en- 
tirely new sensations. Was she going to be 
changed too ? On she came, with her father and 
numerous followers, and soon she stood near 
enough for Bobbie to see her in her quaint, short- 


“ Bobbie.” 


waisted gown of sheerest, daintiest white, over its 
satin slip, cut low in the neck, and with great 
puffs for sleeves. Surely no head was ever poised 
like Dorothy’s, and no hair was ever so soft, or 
curled so bewitchingly around a forehead and 
neck as did that which escaped from the loose coil 
at the back of her head. She wore no jewels or 
ornaments of any kind, but in her hands she car- 
ried the huge bouquet of violets he had ordered 
from the city and sent to her during the day. 
How exactly they matched her eyes, he thought, as 
he watched her — those wondrously beautiful eyes, 
with their wondrously beautiful lashes ! She had 
spoken to his mother, and now she turned to Bob- 
bie : “I’ve had to fight my way up here,” she said 
laughingly, holding out her hand to him in the 
sweet, frank way of old, “but I suppose no penalty 
is too great to pay for the privilege of speaking 
to so many college men and Bobbie, bending 
low over the hand he held in his own, had scarce 
time for a word before she was speaking to his 
chum next to him, and in a minute all the boys 


“ Bobbie.” 

were crowding around and holding out their hands 
to grasp hers. A moment more and she would 
be gone. Bobbie slipped out of the line and 
touched her arm. “ Dorothy,” he whispered, 
“give me your card: these fellows will get every 
dance before I have a chance.” 

His tone was the old imperious one he used as 
a child when determined to have his way. Doro- 
thy looked in his face for a moment, hesitated, 
smiled, and then handed her card to him, and 
recklessly he scribbled here and there, until she 
protested, and made him give it back. Now she 
was gone, and he could see her dancing down 
the long room, while dozens of eyes watched her 
eagerly, for Dorothy was fair to look upon to- 
night. 

She afterwards called it her “ coming-out party,” 
and in truth it could in reason be so called. She 
was a woman now — a very young one, it is true, 
but full of all a woman’s witchery and grace, and 
Bobbie was by no means the only one who loved 
her. 


41 


“ Bobbie.” 


The last year and a half at college was a rest- 
less time for Bobbie, for his ambition admitted of 
nothing less than first honors, that she might be 
proud of him, and through it all he was possessed 
by a nameless dread. Suppose she should not 
give him now the old love she bore him in their 
childhood days ! Their letters were always friendly 
and kind in tone, but after awhile there was a 
formality in them which both tried to overlook, yet 
neither succeeded in banishing, and they wrote of 
everything else but the one thing dearest to their 
hearts. 

The night Bobbie took his degree was a very 
proud and happy one, for he was given the bliss- 
ful surprise of knowing Dorothy was there with 
his father and mother. “At the last moment 
father allowed me to come,” she had managed to 
whisper, and then she had to leave him ; and 
before the evening was done, he almost angrily 
wished she had not come. Scarce a word could 
he have with her before she was literally taken 
away from him by a score of men, who were wait- 
42 


“ Bobbie.” 


ing to claim a dance in the ball that followed 
the closing exercises of the year. It was late, 
very late, before he got her away from them all. 
She was standing in a corner of the room, as 
usual, surrounded by a gay group, when he 
walked up and placed her hand upon his arm, and 
led her away from the crowd. “I’m sorry to 
break you up,” he said, nodding to the others, 
standing stock still with amazement at his nerve, 
“ but I believe this dance is mine,” and he walked 
off with Dorothy, quite as if she already belonged 
entirely to him. 

“We are spoiling you to-night, Bobbie,” she 
said, laughing indulgently; “even I am letting 
you do as you choose, but I just wonder if you 
expect to keep it up — if you think that we are 
always going simply to follow your lead ?” 

“No,” he answered, “no; after to-night you 
will lead, and I suppose I will do the following ; 
but to-night — we do not want to dance — I want 
to get you away from all this crowd.” 

He led her through the door, and down 
43 


“ Bobbie.” 


the length of the veranda, until they came to a 
quiet corner, far removed from the ball-room 
and the gay company within. There was a seat 
way back in the shadow, and he pushed her gently 
in it, while he stood leaning against the railing, 
tearing the blossoms off the vine that made so 
beautiful a drapery from the floor quite to the top 
above. The moon was gloriously bright, but 
only in faint glints could it be seen through the 
mass of leaves, and as Dorothy leaned back its 
glimmer shone upon her hair, and for a moment 
rested lovingly there, and then danced wickedly 
and distractingly up and down, until it was all 
Bobbie could do to keep from kissing it, to make 
it still. He had loved Dorothy all his life, and 
now that he wanted to tell her so, as man to 
woman, his courage failed him. Faint strains of 
the rhythmic waltz reached them, and Dorothy 
leaned back, with her hands loosely clasped in 
her lap, and turned her face so that he could not 
see it well. 

“What is it — are you tired?” he asked, 
44 



' 


■ 

... if.V ’>• 






': y 




■BP 

lUt 


* 


iiii 




? -. - 


I )orothy. 
45 








“ Bobbie.” 


uneasily, sitting beside her. “Ah, Dorothy, you 
know it so well already ! — know that always I have 
loved you — and yet you make it so hard for me to 
tell you. You have held me off and made me 
afraid to speak, but to-night — but to-night you 
must tell me, Dorothy. Will you let the others 
go, and will you marry me, now I am through col- 
lege ? Answer me, Dorothy, don’t make me wait.” 
He had his arms around her, and he drew her face 
again to his, while his breath came fast and hard, 
and he could distinctly hear the beating of his 
heart. 

Dorothy looked at him for just a moment, and 
then she tried to free herself from his arms. 
“Not until you answer me,” he said, holding her 
tighter. “ What is it ? ” 

“I wonder why men are so stupid,” she said, 
laughing a little unsteadily, “you take so long to 
find out what women know so soon. I like the 
others, but — ah, Bobbie, you know” — and she 
looked up in his face and touched it shyly with 
her hand. 


46 


“ Bobbie.” 


And Bobbie knew, knew that of all men on 
earth he was the most supremely blessed, and he 
could not speak for the wonderful happiness that 
filled him. He could only hold her in his arms 
and kiss the quivering, trembling lips, and the 
beautiful violet eyes and the moon glints in her 
hair. 


47 


CHAPTER V. 


ALLIE TOM and Peter Black had 
a conversation a night or two after 
the return of the “white folks from 
the college,” and the announcement 
of Dorothy’s and Bobbie’s engagement was of 
course its topic-in-chief. 

“ Dey do say,” said SallieTom, taking her pipe 
surreptitiously from the depth of her bottomless 
pocket, and lighting it with a coal from the hearth, 
“ dey do say dat de Doctor done walk de flo’ all 
night long when Mars’ Bobbie come over and 
axed for Miss Dorothy, jis as if he didn’t kno’ 
dat it had to come ; every nigger on the place 
know’d it was gwine to end dat way, and tain’t no 
use fur de Doctor to say he didn’t spec it so 
suddin’; tain’t nothin’ suddin’ bout it. Dey been 
a loving’ one another ever sence dey been born, 
ever sence his nose got broke. Miss Dorothy is 
4 S 



“ Bobbie.” 


mighty nice, but she ought to thank her Gord 
A’ mighty every day that our Mars’ Bobbie luv 
her,” and Sallie Tom kicked the ashes together 
on the hearth and gave a little grunt, puffing 
vigorously at her pipe meanwhile. 

“ He sutny do luv her,” said Peter Black, lean- 
ing back in his chair and clasping his knees 
between his hands, “ain’t no mistake about dat, 
and dere ain’t goin’ to be no foolin’ ’bout gittin’ 
married if he kin hep it, but the Doctor say he 
cayn’t let Miss Dorothy go way from home yit. 
She ain’t quite turn eighteen, and Mars’ Bobbie 
he ain’t been long cum twenty-one, and de Doctor 
say dere’s plenty time yit. It don’t mek much 
difference to me,” he went on after a pause, “jis 
so dey stay home and don’t go flyin’ all roun’ de 
worl’ enny mo’. I’m glad dey is gwine to git 
married, but I do want de marsa to be home a 
little bit by hissef fust. ’Pears like I ain’t seen 
him good yit.” 

“You’re right,” grunted Sallie Tom, between 
the puffs, “ain’t hardly cotch a good look at him 
49 


4 — “ Bobbie ” 


“ Bobbie.” 


mysef, do’ he did come heah de night he got home 
an ax me fur his buttermilk and hoecake, same 
ez what he use’ to do, and sat over dere in de 
corner, like what he alius bin a doin’ sence he 
wuz a baby ; de Lord a-bless him ! ” And Sallie 
Tom wrapped her head up in her big apron and 
rocked back and forth, quite overcome by the 
flood of recollections called up by his presence at 
home again. It had been the sorest trial in the 
lives of Sallie Tom and Peter Black, this going 
away of Bobbie, and now that he was back, 
unspeakable joy reigned supreme in the breasts 
of each. During the years at college, Peter 
Black had acted as dining-room boy, helping the 
butler, who was getting rather old, but he had 
been immediately reinstalled in his old position 
on Bobbie’s return, and his love and allegiance 
to his young master was greater than ever before. 

It was in the summer of sixty (’60) that Bobbie 
got his degree at college and the promise of 
Dorothy to be his wife, and while much gayety 
and pleasure filled up the measure of many days, 
50 


“ Bobbie. M 


other and more weighty subjects began to fill the 
air, and caused many long and serious discus- 
sions among the men of the neighborhood, old 
and young alike, and by the fall the one absorb- 
ing topic among all classes was the terrible possi- 
bility of war. 

It was a clear, cool October night that Dorothy 
and Bobbie had their first serious talk about it. 
His horse was hitched to the post waiting for him, 
and Dorothy had come out on the porch to say 
good-bye. The moon shone clear and bright, 
softening the shadows cast by the great trees on 
the lawn, and all the air was full of the sweet, fall 
fragrance which belongs to that season of the year. 

Bobbie was holding his hat in his hand, idly 
twirling it as he talked, to hide the excitement he 
could scarce repress. “Father says,” and they 
began to walk up and down the veranda, “ father 
says if the State secedes, he will organize a troop 
of cavalry at once, and I will of course join him. 
Your father will be our surgeon, and you — has 
your father said anything about it to you, 
5i 


“ Bobbie.” 


Dorothy?” he asked abruptly, taking her hand 
and drawing it through his arm and holding it 
there tightly. “ Has he mentioned any of his 
possible plans to you ?” 

“Yes,” she answered slowly, “yes, he has 
talked with me of every possibility. I am to go 
to your mother in case there is any necessity. 
Auntie will go to the city, so as to be near the 
hospitals, and you — and father — and everybody I 
love will be in that horrible, cruel thing ! Ah, 
Bobbie, why must it happen — why cannot it be 
stopped ?” and she shivered in dread apprehen- 
sion of the days that were awaiting her. Bobbie 
answered her seriously and solemnly, “ I would 
to Heaven it could, but if not, you would not 
have me stay?” 

“ No,” she said, raising her head quickly. “ I 
would not have you stay even if it broke my 
heart to have you go. I did not know how much 
I loved my South until now, when I must give up 
all I love most for it. I pray God to help me — to 

make me brave — but sometimes I’m afraid I’m 

52 


“ Bobbie.” 


a coward ; but of course you must go, and who 
knows but I mav vet. have a major, or a colonel, 
or a brigadier-generai for a husband ?” and she 
tried to laugh bravely at the thought. 

“You shall have one who is every inch a 
Southern soldier,” he said, taking the upturned 
face in his hands. “And I can have nothing 
greater than that,” she added proudly, and the 
moon rested lovingly for a moment on their bent 
heads, and only the winds heard the vows they 
made to be true to their cause — come what may, 
come what might. 


53 


CHAPTER Vi. 


UCH a short, hurried time, it seemed 
afterwards, before everything was 
decided, all preparations made, and 
all the great changes, which at first 
they thought would only prove temporary, settled 
down to a permanent thing. The neighborhood, 
once so gay and bright and full of all that makes 
life worth the living, was turned into a kind of 
camping ground or recruiting station, and “Yvmte 
Point” was the nucleus around which everything 
centered. 

Mr. Tayloe was the leading spirit of the place, 
and no better-drilled body of cavalry entered the 
service than the “Rockland Home Guards” under 
his command, with Bobbie as his first lieuten- 
ant and Dr. Trevillian as surgeon. “ Grey Cliffs ” 
was to be closed, with only the servants in their 
quarters, to take charge of the place as long 
54 



“Bobbie ” 


as they proved faithful, and Dorothy was estab- 
lished with Bobbie’s mother. Her aunt had left 
for the city, where, she said sadly, she knew 
there would be plenty to do after awhile, and soon 
the beautiful old home had a dreary, deserted 
look, for the shadow of coming sorrow was hover- 
ing over it. 

Bobbie had begged hard to be married before 
he should start for what might perhaps be an 
interminable absence, but Dr. Trevillian was firm 
in his refusal for a year longer at least. 

“ I am giving you the light of my life, Bobbie,” 
he said, putting his hand on the young man’s 
shoulder, as he stood pleading his cause, just two 
days before they received orders to join H.’s regi- 
ment at C — , “and you must wait, my man, until 
she is a little older — she is so young yet ! Per- 
haps ” — he cleared his throat and went on after 
a minute — “perhaps, after I leave here, I may 
never come back ; but remember always, that my 
daughter’s happiness is in your power, and that I 
put into your hands the most sacred trust one 
55 


“Bobbie.” 


man can give another. I charge you to guard 
it well.” 

Bobbie bared his head as a knight of old. “ So 
help me God,” he said reverently, “ I shall be 
worthy of it.” They shook hands in silence and 
separated. 

It was the night before they were to start. Mr. 
Tayloe and his wife were shut in their room. 
The Doctor was in the library writing some final 
directions to be sent over to “Grey Cliffs,” and 
Bobbie and Dorothy were out on the lawn, under 
the old wishing-tree down by the gate. Every 
preparation for departure had been made, and 
the start was to occur at five the next morning. 
Peter Black was in an ecstasy of delight because 
he was to accompany his young master as his 
body-servant, and Sallie Tom was in the depths 
of stern and silent indignation and despair at the 
turn affairs had taken. 

She now had her son down in the cabin for 
final admonitions as to the duties and obligations 
resting upon him, and for renewed charges that 


“ Bobbie.” 


no matter where they might be, in case anything 
happened to the young master, he was to bring 
him home, if possible ; if not, he was to come 
himself and tell her that she might go to him. 

Bobbie and Dorothy were silent for a long time, 
down under the old wishing-tree, for neither could 
trust themselves to speak of the things nearest 
their hearts, but after awhile Bobbie began to talk 
of the orders received the day before. “ If it were 
not for leaving you and mother,” he said, “ if it 
weren’t for that continual nightmare hanging over 
me, I think I should enjoy going more than any- 
thing on earth. We have talked, and argued, and 
discussed all this so long that I am glad the time 
has come to fight it out ; it is the only way to set" 
tie it, and the sooner begun the sooner ended.” 

Dorothy answered slowly, and after a long 
pause : “Yes, I know it is the only way to settle 
it, but it is a horrible price that must be paid for 
the final decision. Ah, I understand how you feel, 
but you are going into it, into the danger, into 

work, into action— and — I know — into death, too, 

•57 


“ Bobbie.” 


perhaps/’ and her voice shook a little, “but it is 
so much harder for us — we who have to stay 
here — who must sit day after day — waiting to 
hear. Of course, I can knit socks, and tear 
strips, and make bandages to send to the city ; 
but what can I do to make myself forget for one 
single moment that you may be needing me — or 
father? ” — and she broke down in a genuine sob, 
and then in a minute she slipped away from him. 
“You will think me a coward — and I know I am 
not that — see, I have brought you something — 
you must keep it, and read it, and be the man it 
can make you,” and she put in his hands a tiny 
pocket Testament, on the inside of which she had 
pasted a small picture of herself. 

“That will be my talisman,” he said, kissing it 
reverently, and putting it in his inner pocket, 
“and will keep me from harm, please God.” 

They talked until the night grew late and chill, 
and then he put his arms around her for a last 
good-bye. The winds shivered in the tops of the 
trees, and the whip-poor-wills ’way down by the 
53 


“ Bobbie.” 


brook were calling plaintively to each other, and 
the moon slipped under a cloud, and only the 
stars looked down and saw the sorrow that filled 
their brave young hearts. 

They were gone, and Dorothy and Bobbie’s 
mother turned from the porch, from which they 
had watched as long as possible, and went inside, 
not daring to speak, lest all the long-controlled 
feeling they had been struggling to conceal should 
reveal itself at last. 

They took up their new life courageously, and 
the influence of each was great, both in the home 
and in the neighborhood ; but it was not long 
before trouble began to appear among the ser- 
vants, and, as time went on, greater and greater 
discontent became evident. 

It was not until news of the first battle reached 
them that the horror of it all made itself felt in 
full force to Dorothy. She had heard that a battle 
must take place soon ; and when Bobbie’s letter 
came, telling her he hoped and prayed his regi- 
ment would have the honor of being allowed to 
59 


“ Bobbie.” 


go into the first fight, her heart sank in miserable 
misgivings. 

She wrote him, however, that if he were sent 
into this battle, she knew the honor of old Rock- 
land would be safe, and not by a single word did 
she tell him how torturing was the anxiety, or 
how, all night long, she had knelt at her window 
and prayed God to protect and keep him safe. 

Not for ten days did she hear again, and then 
came such a battered and soiled old envelope that 
the address was almost unreadable. It was very 
short, and written in pencil on a scrap of paper 
torn from a note-book, and ran as follows : 

“ Dear Dorothy — We are drawn up in line of 
battle, facing the enemy, and waiting the signal to 
charge. I am using my cap to write on. I don’t 
know how it is going to be. I only know we are 
going to fight like our women expect us ; and 
now, before it begins, I am trying to send you a 
word to tell you that the thought of you makes 
me dare all things. I am going to put this in my 
pocket. Peter Black knows what I want done in 
case I don’t send it myself. Tell mother she shall 
60 


“ Bobbie.” 


not be ashamed of her son. My love to her, and 
for you, little sweetheart, God bless you, and 
make me worthy of you ! 

“ Bobbie.” 

•Peter Black found it in his pocket, where he 
had been directed to look ; and though Bobbie 
declared it was only a scratch, it kept him close 
for a week, and Peter Black’s powers as a nurse 
were tested pretty well in that time. 

It was shortly after this that Bobbie was ap- 
pointed General H.’s special scout. His well- 
known absence of fear, his reckless daring, 
together with his wonderful ability to ferret his 
way through any section of country, and his mar- 
velous endurance, had already attracted the atten- 
tion of his regiment, and soon it became a com- 
mon matter to send for him when the situation 
demanded unusual haste and caution. 


CHAPTER VII. 


HE first year of the war passed with 
comparatively little change at “White 
Point, ” but towards the middle of 
the second year the trouble which 
had been brewing among the negroes for some 
time gave way to open rebellion ; and had it 
not been for Sallie Tom’s wonderful and cun- 
juring influence over them, they would have left 
long before they did. Under Mrs. Tayloe’s and 
Dorothy’s oversight, much of the farming had 
been kept up ; but towards the second harvesting 
it became evident that trouble was ahead. A 
negro agitator and so-called preacher had ap- 
peared in the village near by, and so great was 
the effect of his haranguing that the entire neigh- 
borhood was demoralized, and nightly meetings 
were held down at the cross-roads. Sallie Tom 

was constable-in-chief of the “White Point” con- 

62 



“ Bobbie.” 


tingent, and every night she stationed herself in 
the road usually taken by the servants and hands 
on their way to the meetings, a gun in one hand 
and a pistol in the other, ready to shoot the first 
one who passed. Every negro on the place 
believed in her cunjuring power, and they would 
no sooner have thought of passing than of trying 
to ride the moon. Things were beginning to 
look desperate. Even the loyal and good ser- 
vants showed signs of dissatisfaction under the 
influence of the agitators, until finally only 
Dorothy’s old mammy Rachel, Jessie, the dining- 
room servant, Uncle Lias, the carriage driver, 
and Sallie Tom remained deaf to the promises of 
good fortune and prosperity advanced by the 
younger element. 

It was on a clear, bright October morning, that 
the result of all their meetings and plannings 
were realized. Mrs.^Tayloe and Dorothy came 
down as usual, and found Sallie Tom and the 
three other servants drawn up in line outside the 
dining-room door. Sallie Tom was almost wild 
63 


“ Bobbie.” 


with excitement and anger. “ They’re gone ! ” 
she cried, waving her hand violently in the direc- 
tion of the quarters, her voice trembling and her 
whole body quivering. “They’re gone, every 
one of them — crone like thieves in the niorht. 

o o 

They have took all their things, and six of the 
horses, mos’ all the corn, and Gord A’mighty 
knows what else. Oh, Lordy ! ” she went on, 
“to think of all the trouble what’s come to us 
’count of dat monstrous inturfurence bizness of 
them Yankees ! To think I uver should er lived to 
see my missus done treated so by niggers ! Oh, 
Lord A’mighty, what we gwine to do anyhow ? ” 
And Sallie Tom for the moment lost her courage 
in the face of the dread possibilities of the future. 

Mrs. Tayloe turned white to the lips, and 
Dorothy caught her hands and held them in her 
own strong, tender ones. 

“ I suppose it had to come,” she said presently, 
nervously pressing Dorothy’s hands in her own. 
“I am thankful it is no worse. We must do the 

best we can, and not let the gentlemen know. 

64 


“ Bobbie.” 


Ah, no, we must not let the gentlemen know ! ” 
Her voice broke, and she hurried back to her 
room, and they left her there, for they knew it 
was best that she should be alone for awhile. 

It was Dorothy’s turn to advise and lead now. 
With all the courage and hope of youth she began 
to take charge of the place. With the help of 
the others she managed to keep up part of the 
farm, and from one end to the other she rode 
daily on her horse, sometimes with saddle, some- 
times bareback. A new fear was beginning to 
grow in her heart. Every dollar on earth pos- 
sessed by both her father and Mr. Tayloe had 
been invested in Confederate bonds, and she 
knew that very soon their purchasing value would 
be of little account. 

That they should ever suffer she did not allow 
herself to think ; but it was necessary to husband 
every resource, and every energy must be bent 
toward keeping from Bobbie’s mother as long as 
possible the seriousness of the situation. Life 
was by no means now a thing of ease or pleasure 

J— “ Bobbie” 6 5 


“ Bobbie.” 


to Dorothy. The days became weeks, and the 
weeks months, and the months were becoming 
years, and the clouds which at first they thought 
would be but temporary, were continually grow- 
ing blacker and heavier, with never a sign of lift- 
ing. It was not until the Christmas of ’63 that 
any real alarm, however, was actually felt as to 
the outlook. By a long-planned and well-timed 
scheme Mr. Tayloe, who now through successive 
ranks had been promoted to that of colonel, and 
Dr. Trevillian, now a surgeon-in-chief, had man- 
aged to get leave for a two days’ visit home, the 
first they had been able to make together since 
they entered the service. Bobbie’s movements 
were uncertain. He would be there, he wrote, 
were it a matter of possibility, but he might be kept 
for some special duty. He had managed to run 
in for a day or so at intervals of every few months, 
and consequently was better prepared for the 
present condition of things than were the others. 

All through the three long years there never 

had been a time when it was possible for him and 

66 


“ Bobbie.’’ 


Dorothy to be married. When he was at home, 
her father and his were away, and he could never 
induce her to marry him unless all were there. 

Every effort was made to make this Christmas 
a memorable one. Mrs. Tayloe’s happiness at 
having her husband home once more gave her a 
fresh measure of strength, and the very best that 
had been carefully saved and hoarded for many 
months past was now made into the good things 
of former Christmas times ; and though Dorothy 
knew they would have to stint for months to 
come, yet she never let any one but Sallie Tom 
realize how reckless it all was. 

Sallie Tom’s joy at having once more a pretence 
of Christmas festivities made itself known by her 
own peculiar way of snorting as she prepared the 
various dishes that were best liked by the master 
and the Doctor, to say nothing of those she sur- 
reptitiously made for Bobbie, in case he should 
come. That he would come, she never doubted, 
and all day long on Christmas-eve she had her 
ears, as well as her eyes, open to catch the first 
67 


“ Bobbie.” 


sound of his horse’s hoofs on the frozen ground 
outside. 

Colonel Tayloe and his wife had stayed much 
in their room, talking over matters of minutest 
detail as to the new life of each, while Dorothy 
and her father had a long talk after the latter’s re- 
turn from “ Grey Cliffs,” where he had spent most 
of the day. He had brought back her mother’s 
portrait, and told her he wanted it put in her 
room. ‘‘ There is no telling what may happen,” 
he said, trying, however, to speak cheerfully. 
“There may be trouble around here yet. The 
negroes seem to be going crazy. Only two are 
over there now — old Israel and his wife. I have 
buried all the silver and a few other things,” and 
he told her where he had hidden them. “ I want 
you to understand about everything, Dorothy. 
You know it will all be yours some day, and there 
is no telling ” — he stopped abruptly at the sight of 
the sad, pained face. “ Don’t look that way, 
Dorothy, daughter,” he went on, softly stroking 
the hand he held in both of his. “ When the end 
68 


“ Bobbie.” 


comes to me don’t grieve, but be glad, glad for 
me ; for I’ve wanted to go for a long time, except 
for leaving you, and I know that is all right now. 
Bobbie has proven himself to be a soldier worthy 
of the cause for which he fights, and I have been 
proud of him — very proud. I have made you 
both wait much longer than I intended, but I did 
it to be satisfied, and I am satisfied at last. I 
have lived for so many years with only the mem- 
ory of a past and the hope of a future that I am 
longing for the now of her presence.” He paused 
for a moment, and Dorothy dared not trust her- 
self to speak ; she could only cling to him in 
mute understanding of the loneliness of his life. 
He stroked her hair softly, and after awhile con- 
tinued : “You have been the comfort of my life, 
my daughter — my dear little daughter — but you 
will understand some day, and I only want you not 
to grieve should the fate of some of those poor 
lads come to me. You know I am on the field 
sometimes — you will remember, child — and go 
now and see that everything is ready for Bobbie’s 
69 


“ Bobbie/’ 


coming, for I am sure he will be here, and when 
he comes I want to have a talk with him.” 

She kissed her father in silence again and again, 
and then she left the room ; but the awful possi- 
bilities which his words suggested filled her with 
unutterable sorrow and loneliness, and, like a 
child that longs for warmth and cheer and com- 
forting, she sank down on the rug in front of the 
big blazing fire, and her lips quivered in her great 
longing for Bobbie. She clasped her knees 
loosely with her hands, and the flames danced 
merrily up and down before her blurred eyes. 
The corners of the room were lost in shadows, 
and the flicker of the firelight played upon the 
walls. It would be such a relief to give way and 
have a good cry. She bit her lip to keep it back ; 
and then she heard a little noise, and somebody 
had his arms about her and was down on his knees 
beside her, and outside she could hear Sallie Tom 
snorting, and Bobbie was telling her, almost out 
of breath, that he had ridden like the wind all day 
and all night just to spend a few hours with her 
70 


“ Bobbie. 


and why didn’t she speak to him and tell him she 
was glad to see him ? And all she could do at 
first was to cling to him, and let all the pent-up 
feeling and anxiety of the months past come out 
between the laughter and tears ; and Bobbie un- 
derstood it all, and soothed and quieted her as 
only he could do. and in a little while she was her 
own brave self, and was making him answer a 
dozen questions at once. She might have kept 
it up indefinitely had he not told her he was 
starving, and that sent her flying for Sallie 
Tom. 

It promised to be such a happy Christmas, after 
all. The knowledge that this brief return of other 
days could last but a short while made every mo- 
ment precious, and such old-time doings as Bob- 
bie insisted upon keeping up made them forget 
for a few hours at least, the serious outlook for 
the future. It was just before dinner on Christmas 
Day that Bobbie came to Dorothy with a face full 
of intensely repressed feeling. She was standing 
by the big window in the library watching the 
7i 


“ Bobbie.” 


snow, now fast falling and thickly covering the 
ground, and he went up to her and took both of 
her hands in his. “ Dorothy,” he said quietly, 
“ has your father said anything to you to-day 
about our marriage ?” 

“ Not a word,” she answered, turning quickly 
and searching his face for the meaning of the new 
light there. “We must not worry him about it, 
Bobbie ; he has had so much sorrow in his life 
that I dare not ask him to give me entirely to 
you. We can afford to wait.” 

“ But if he says he wishes it, now, to-day, would 
you be willing?” He drew her down on the sofa 
by him. “ I have just had a long talk with your 
father,” he continued, “and he told me that he 
would like us to be married at once, while he is 
at home and we are all together.” He almost 
crushed her hands in his as he waited her answer, 
controlling by a great effort, his old boyish and 
imperious impatience. 

“Dear father,” she said, and her eyes were full 
of tears, “I must see him first, and then I will 


“ Bobbie.” 


tell you, Bobbie. It is so sudden ; and to be mar- 
ried in such a hurry don’t seem just right some- 
how.” His look of disappointment reproached 
her. She put her hand upon his face in the quaint 
way peculiar to herself for just a moment, and 
then she drew herself away. 

She would not let him go with her, and it was 
fully half an hour before she came back, bringing 
her father with her. Both showed the traces of 
how tender had been the talk between them, and 
both were very quiet. Dr. Trevillian led her to 
Bobbie, and put her hands in his. “ She agrees 
to our plans, my son,” he said, trying to speak 
brightly, and then he turned abruptly and left 
them alone. 

“You are not marrying your general, Doro- 
thy,” said Bobbie, presently. “What are you 
going to do about it?” 

“ Sefid off his scout to-night to report to his 
general for new orders,” she answered, trying to 
speak bravely, “ but now we must hurry,” and her 
face colored richly as she ran out of the room. 

73 


CHAPTER VIII. 


D a bomb been exploded at “White 
Point,” the excitement could hardly 
have been greater than that caused 
by Bobbie’s announcement that the 
marriage would occur that night. Such hurry- 
ing and scurrying for the numberless prepara- 
tions which Sallie Tom insisted should be made 
had not been seen since the war be^an. Peter 
Black could hardly saddle the horse, in such a 
tremor was he over the great news, and Colonel 
and Mrs. Tayloe were gratefully pleased that the 
marriage should be consummated even in such an 
unexpected way. 

And now, while Bobbie was riding like mad 
through the fast-falling snow and gathering dark- 
ness, Dorothy and his mother were deep in the 
mysteries of certain old trunks, which, in the be- 
74 



“ Bobbie.” 


ginning of the war had been brought over from 
“Grey Cliffs,” and in one of which lay her mo- 
ther’s wedding gown and veil. 

It was a good five miles to the court-house, 
near which, fortunately, was the minister’s heme ; 
and though it was bitterly cold, and the snow cut 
like ice in his face, Bobbie knew and felt nothing 
save the unutterable happiness that filled his 
heart. He had made Peter Black stay at home 
to help the women folks, and on he rode madly. 
He stopped only long enough at the Rev. Dr. 
Miles’s house to tell the dear old o-entleman that 
his services would be needed at once, and to eet 

o 

his promise to go over with all the family to the 
wedding. “ Bundle them up in the sleigh, and 
take the whole business over,” he called, as he 
rode off, scarcely waiting to take breath. “We 
can’t have much of a frolic, but you all must be 
there.” 

It took quite a long time to get through at the 
court-house. The old clerk was indulging in 
his one and only dissipation of the year, and fully 
75 


“ Bobbie.” 


an hour was lost in finding him, and one or two 
others, and getting the license ready. The Rev- 
erend Doctor and his family had already started 
when Bobbie passed his way again. He stopped 
for a moment to find out, and then decided to 
make a short cut for home. 

The wedding had been fixed for nine o’clock, 
Sallie Tom declaring it was “monstrous ” to talk 
of “gettin’ up a weddin’ supper in ten minutes,” 
and they had laughingly agreed to the hour she 
set. From the time Bobbie left Sallie Tom began 
bossing the whole affair, and soon everybody in 
the house was running at her command. Uncle 
Lias’s rheumatism was pretty bad, but she showed 
him no mercy, and gave the parlors to him to fix 
up right. Every stick of wood she knew it was 
necessary to watch, but this “was Mars’ Bobbie’s 
weddin’ night, and they should have as much fire 
as they wanted, if they friz for it the rest of their 
lives,” she thundered to Uncle Lias, who ventured 
to remonstrate on her reckless prodigality in heap- 
ing up . the logs in the great fire-places in the par- 
76 


“ Bobbie ” 


lors. Peter Black was piling the mantels and 
pictures with beautiful holly and mistletoe ; and 
between the windows where the ceremony was 
to take place he had placed the white silken 
cushions on which his young master’s father and 
mother had knelt when they were married so 
many years ago. Fortunately, Anne Carter had 
come over just after Bobbie 'left — pretty Anne 
Carter, Dorothy’s dear friend and almost sister — 
and under her fingers the rooms began to wear 
the festive look of other days. The great wax 
candles sputtered for a moment, and then flared 
up bravely in the beautiful old silver candlesticks, 
and soon the rooms were a flood of warm, rich 
light. Anne surveyed them for a moment, then 
ran up-stairs to report the progress made to 
Dorothy. “ Sallie Tom is snorting like an old 
porpoise,” she declared, sitting down for a mo- 
ment, and fingering almost reverently the beau- 
tiful old lace veil lying on the bed, and stroking 
softly the quaint, old-fashioned wedding gown. 
“She seems on the eve of spontaneous com- 


“ Bobbie.” 


bustion, but the dining room is a sight to behold ! 
Where in the name of reason she has raked up 
all those good things to eat will ever be one of 
the mysteries of life to me. It looks so much 
like old times,” she went on, still handling the 
soft, pretty things composing the bridal outfit, 
“that it makes me positively sick to think of the 
awful change. You know we’ve been on half 
rations for months, and how we’re going to hold 
out is beyond my ken. Sallie Tom always was 
an uncanny old animal, anyhow, and I believe 
she’s cunjured those things from the man in the 
moon ; but the very smell has made me disgrace- 
fully hungry, and I wish Bobbie would make haste 
and come, so we can begin on the supper.” 
Dorothy laughed a little, and looked up at the 
clock. “He ought to be here now,” she said : 
“it’s seven, and he’s had plenty of time to get 
back.” “Perhaps the Yanks have nabbed him,” 
suggested Anne, getting up and giving a last 
touch to the silk stockings. “ Father wrote us, 
some time ago, he thought our section would be 
78 


“ Bobbie.” 


visited soon, and to look out for the raiders, as 
he called them.” 

Dorothy turned white to her lips, and caught 
hold of the chair nearest to her, while her voice 
died away in her throat ; and Anne, turning, 
saw at once the effect of her thoughtless words. 
“Why, Dorothy,” she cried, going straight to 
her and putting her hands on her shoulders, 
“you didn’t think I was in earnest — I was joking, 
of course. You know there’s no danger way off 
here, and Bobbie is as safe as I am. For 
heaven’s sake, don’t look like that ! ” Dorothy 
smiled faintly, and the color came slowly back to 
her face. “ I don’t know what is the matter, but 
I have the most curious feeling that something is 
going to happen — what — what was that?” she 
cried nervously, catching Anne by the arm. “ I’m 
sure I don’t know,” answered Anne ; but I must 
say going to get married is having a curious effect 
on you ; now do hurry and get into the wedding 
garments,” she went on, kissing her hurriedly, 
“while I go and see who’s arrived. I don’t doubt 
79 


“ Bobbie.” 


Bobbie has 4 hollered ’ at every house in the 
neighborhood as he passed by — now hurry, do,” 
and Anne ran hastily down-stairs, her heart beat- 
ing a little faster than usual at the noises she 
heard outside. It was only the Rev. Dr. Miles 
and family, however, and Colonel and Mrs. Tay- 
loe, with Dr. Trevillian, were welcoming them in 
hearty, hospitable fashion when she reached the 
door. “Where is Bobbie?” she called out, 
almost before speaking; “Didn’t he come with 
you?” “No; he went on to the court-house,” 
answered Mrs. Miles, brushing the snow carefully 
from her best silk gown; “and if poor old Mr. 
Turpin is in his usual Christmas condition it will 
take some time to make out what Bobbie wants.” 
Anne saw the uneasiness Mrs. Tayloe was try- 
ing so hard to conceal, and knew that to keep 
everybody from crying everybody must laugh, and 
she began in her own inimitable way to start 
the ball rolling. The Rutherfoords had gotten 
over, Bobbie having called to them, they said, 

also Mrs. Trent and her daughter ; and Colonel 

80 


“ Bobbie.” 


Tayloe and the Doctor were besieged by the 
women for news of the war. Every' household 
in the county had one or more members in the 
army, and every item of the life, with all its 
hardships and its every exciting detail, was 
eagerly sought after. 

Dorothy was still up in her room, now fully 
dressed for the ceremony. Like a quaint, sweet 
picture of a day gone by, she stood in her 
mother’s wedding gown waiting for Bobbie. 

Anne Carter held her off at arm’s length and 
surveyed her critically, from the two provoking 
little curls that wouldn’t lie smooth under the 
beautiful veil to the tiny satin slippers that rest- 
lessly slipped out now and then under the gown, 
and then she kissed her hastily. “I never knew 
before exactly how wickedly good-looking you 
were, Dorothy Trevillian — it’s a shame to be 
married with nobody but dear old Dr. Miles and 
his family, and old Mrs. Rutherfoord and her 
maidens three, and pious Mrs. Trent and that 
proper daughter of hers, to see you. Not a man 

6— “ Bobbie ’* 8 1 


“ Bobbie.” 


down-stairs except the two fathers. “ Heigho ! 
what’s that?” In a flash she was gone, and 
Dorothy, left standing at the open door, listened. 

The parlor doors were thrown wide open, and 
Sallie Tom rushed wildly in. “Gord A’mighty ! ’ 
she cried hoarsely, clutching first at the Colonel 
and then at the Doctor, “ Gord A’mighty, get 
out o’ heah, Mars’ Robert, and tek de Doctor 
wid you — dey done come. Peter Black seen six 
of ’em down de road whar he gone to look fur 
Mars’ Bobbie ; dey on dere way heah — he heah’d 
dem talkin’ ’bout how to git heah. For Gord’s 
sake, hurry up in de loft, top o’ de garret, and I’ll 
manage so dey won’t fine you. Dey got orders 
to ’rest you all, and mos’ special Mars’ Bobbie, 
whar got some papers. Peter Black heah’d ’em 
say so. Move long, all o’ you, and help put out 
dese lights and shet dese rooms up, so dey won’t 
ketch on to nothin’ special. You mils’ tell ’em,” 
she said, turning to Mrs. Tayloe, who, white as 
a sheet, was sitting perfectly limp in her chair, 
“you mus’ tell ’em de parson is a goin’ to tek his 
82 


“ Bobbie.” 


Christmas supper wid you, and dese heah friends, 
too. Go ’long in de libr’y and shet up dis heah 
part de house.” 

Every hand was instantly at work, and in a 
minute or two only the smoldering fires gave evi- 
dence of the rooms having been used. Colonel 
Tayloe and the Doctor had exchanged a few 
hurried words. They mortally hated to hide in 
the loft, but it was their only resource. If found, 
it would mean new anxiety and disaster to the 
women. They must take Sallie Tom’s advice. 

It took but a minute to reach the garret, and 
there through an opening she thrust them into a 
side loft and closed the door, drawing a line filled 
with old and long-disused garments across it, so 
that, unless closely inspected, the door was not 
apt to be seen. 

Down-stairs the utmost confusion reigned su- 
preme. Mrs. Tayloe’s chief thought was Bobbie, 
but by a superhuman effort she managed to con- 
quer herself, and think what was best to be done. 
The Miles children were crying, but were ordered 


“ Bobbie.” 


by Anne to keep quiet, and if they dared speak 
a word the soldiers would eat them alive. 

Quickly the dining room was dispossessed of 
all the wedding paraphernalia, and only the ne- 
cessities of a ministerial tea remained. 

Dorothy had heard the confusion, and before 
Anne could reach her the wedding varments 

o o 

were off, and she, in her usual quiet dress, 
was hurriedly putting them back in the trunks. 
“They will search the entire house,” she said in 
answer to Anne’s look of astonishment, “ and 
they must see nothing that would give them an 
idea of anything unusual going on.” 

Dorothy was herself now, quiet and brave, and 
ready for whatever might await her. The last 
thing had hardly been put away, the room 
straightened and the lights lowered, before they 
heard the muffled sound of horses’ hoofs upon 
the snow outside, and soon a thunderous knock 
at the door. Through the blinds they had seen 
several horsemen, one of whom seemed to be 
giving directions to the others. 

34 


“ Bobbie.” 


Dorothy slipped down the stairs, and for a 
moment looked into the library. “ Please do not 
look so frightened,” she called to the others, 
“ Sallie Tom and I will manage.” Then she went 
on to the door. A furious gust of wind blew 
wildly around the corner of the house, and a 
voice outside called out: “There is no use in 
resisting, you might as well open at once.” 
Dorothy pushed Sallie Tom aside, and threw 
open the door. Two officers stood without with 
pistols in hand, and as the light fell full upon 
the slight, girlish figure standing in the doorway, 
they drew back, as if startled themselves. For a 
moment no one spoke, then the taller of the two 
stepped forward and lifted his cap. “I am sorry 
to trouble you,” he said courteously, putting his 
pistol in his belt as he spoke, “ but I understand 
General H.’s scout, Robert F. Taylor, is here, 
and we are under orders to search the house, 
and produce him, if possible, and also any other 
soldiers who may be found here.” 

Sallie Tom gave a most vicious snort, and 
S.s 


“ Bobbie.” 


Dorothy laid her hands upon her. “You are at 
perfect liberty to search the house, gentlemen,” 
she said quietly, trying hard to control her voice, 
as she motioned them to enter that she might 
close the door, “but I am afraid you will have 
your trouble for nothing, you are just a little too 
late ; the gentleman you are looking for did take 
his Christmas dinner with us, but that was five 
hours ago ; he left immediately afterwards.” She 
looked up almost provokingly into their faces, 
and the least bit of a smile quivered on her lips, 
as the officers exchanged glances. 

It was impossible that this slip of a girl, this 
beautiful thing, could be fooling them. They must 
search the house anyhow — could they be allowed 
at once ? 

“Certainly,” she answered promptly, “ Sallie 
Tom will show you every inch of it.” “It is ter- 
ribly cold,” she continued, seeing them rub their 
hands together, “won’t you let the rest of the 
men come in also ? they can at least get warm 
while waiting.” 


86 


“ Bobbie.” 


“Oh, they don’t mind,” one of them smilingly 
rejoined, “they are accustomed to waiting, and 
cold, too, and besides I would not care to fill 
your whole house.” 

“ I hardly think half a dozen men would do 
that,” she answered gravely. “I suppose you 
would like to begin your search at once, how- 
ever,” she continued as she threw open the parlor 
door. “You can walk in and examine at your 
leisure. You will pardon my leaving you, we 
have friends to tea. Sallie Tom will show you 
every inch of space in the house.” She bowed 
to them courteously and left. 

The two men looked at each other blankly for 
a moment, and then the younger one began to 
laugh at the expression on the other man’s face. 
“This beats my time,” he said softly to the one 
in command — a lieutenant, evidently, from his 
uniform. They lowered their voices so that 
Sallie Tom couldn’t hear. “I’ll bet an even 
hundred that fellow’s about here somewhere, and 
that girl’s determined to save him. She’s the 
87 


“ Bobbie.” 


coolest thing I’ve struck since I entered the ser- 
vice, and by long odds the prettiest. Did you 
notice her eyes ? ” “ Hush,” said the other, “ that 
old woman’s a regular hawk, she’s pretending 
not to notice. Come, we must search the house 
thoroughly, though it’s a nasty piece of business. 
I wish that girl hadn’t been so polite.” The two 
men began to walk around the room, looking 
more at the many old and elegant things it 
contained, than with any expectation of finding a 
clue here to the hiding place of any rebels that 
might be in the house. Their looks and bear- 
ing gave evidence that they were gentlemen, 
who, while they disliked their invasion of private 
property, were determined to obey to the letter 
the orders they had undertaken to fill. These 
orders were to capture the daring scout of 
General H— — and bring him to where their 
company was camping temporarily, some five 
miles below “White Point.” 

A scouting party of some six or seven men, 
under their young lieutenant, had volunteered to 
88 - 


“ Bobbie.” 


make this capture, if possible, having heard that 
young Taylor, as they thought the name was, 
would no doubt spend his Christmas at home. 
They knew very well the importance attached to 
this holiday by the Southern people, and what a 
time for home-coming it was, and were confident 
of springing a trap and catching their unwary 
victim in it. So confident of success had they 
been, that they would take only some six or 
seven in their party, and now to be met in this 
coolly prepared-for manner, and by such a de- 
moralizing pretty girl, was upsetting to their 
soldierly dignity and calculations. They moved 
slowly round the room for a minute or two, 
talking in an undertone. Sallie Tom, snorting in 
a suppressed kind of way, was walking about 
moving chairs and sofas, shaking out curtains, 
and opening the doors of cabinets full of bric-a- 
brac, but still not a word did she utter. How 
on earth was she going to keep Bobbie away, 
and give him the signal of danger, was what 

she was turning over m her mind. Her cabin 

89 


“ Bobbie.” 


was a good distance from the house. If she 
could only get there without exciting suspicion, 
or if Peter Black had already gotten there with 
Dorothy’s message, all might yet be well. She 
lifted herself up straight and changed her tac- 
tics — that is, she ceased to snort ; she would do 
the amiable act. It was Christmas night ; per- 
haps she could make the whole crowd drunk ; 
and, if so, the Colonel and Doctor could slip off 
with Bobbie. 


90 


CHAPTER IX. 



t£\AS you gent’ men seen everything in 
dis heah room what you would 
^ like to ? ” She gave a low, cheer- 
ful, seductive kind of laugh as she 
asked the question, resting her hands on her 
hips and looking at first one and then the other, 
“ ‘cause we’ve got a pow’ful lot of rooms in dis 
heah house, and if you wants to get back to your 
Christmas-tree I reckon we’d better be a movin’.” 

The two men looked at her as a fresh kind 
of curiosity and laughed. “Oh, I guess there 
isn’t much use in hurrying,” one answered ; “it’s 
rieht uncomfortable to be hidden somewhere, 

o 

and you all might as well make up your minds 
to give up the young gentleman ; he can’t pos- 
sibly escape, you know. We’ve got men all 
outside the house. It would be dangerous for 
him to try ; he might get shot.” 


“ Bobbie.” 


Sallie Tom clutched her hands angrily together 
under her apron. She had an intense desire to 
wring their necks, the little whippersnappers, she 
muttered under her breath. Give up Mars’ Bob- 
bie ? Not as long as a drop of blood was in her 
veins ; but outwardly she gave no sign. “Yes, I 
seen you is got a pow’ful lot of men outside,” 
she said, chuckling as if highly amused. “I 
counted you when you corned up, an’ dere’s six 
of you ; you two is in heah, an’ de other fo’ is at 
de fo’ corner’s of de house. Lordy, gent’mens, 
you all sutny don’t kno\y nothin’ ’bout dis heah 
place when you comes up wid six men to frighten 
a lot of women folks. Dis heah place is ‘ White 
Point,’ an’ we all is jes ez used to seein’ men 
’round heah ez flies in summer. Why, our Mars’ 
Tayloe didn’t think nothin’ o’ callin’ up a hundred 
head o’ niggers at a time an’ givin’ em eggnog 
an' sich on Christmas. You all oughter bringed 
up suppin’ what would a-looked like suppin’ when 
you was a-comin’; but I don’t s’pose you all is 
frum anywhar near dese heah parts, an’ cose you 


“ Bobbie/' 


didn’t kno’ no better.” Sallie Tom’s cheerfully- 
condescending tone was irresistible. 

The two men laughed in spite of themselves. 
“We acknowledge our ignorance, old woman,” 
the Lieutenant answered, ‘ and now, as I don’t 
think our friend is in any of these chairs or 
sofas, we would like to move on.” Sallie Tom 
opened the door and they walked into the hall. 
A cheerful light from the library streamed out, 
and the laughing and talking sounded as if the 
inmates were entirely uninterested in the search 
being made through the house. The two men 
stopped instinctively at the door and bowed po^ 
litely. Dorothy sprang from her chair and came 
toward them, also Anne Carter, and whatever 
was in their hearts, they concealed it well. 

“You wish to search these rooms?” said 
Dorothy, pleasantly. “ Don’t hesitate to do so. 
Our pastor is taking his Christmas tea with us, 
also a few other friends, and that is why I cannot 
go with you over the house — unless they will 
excuse me. Let’s go anyhow, Anne,” she added, 
93 


“ Bobbie.” 


turning quickly to her friend. “ I’ve told you it 
would be useless, however,” she went on. “ Mr. 
Tayloe left here five hours ago ; but of course 
you must go through the house, and we might 
show you some nooks and corners Sallie Tom 
would possibly leave out.” The two men glanced 
at each other, then accepted Dorothy’s offer with 
thanks. It would certainly do no harm to have 
two pretty girls go along. They looked around 
the comfortable, homelike rooms a little longingly; 
how cosy everything was, and how good that 
coffee smelt ! One of them involuntarily sniffed 
it and Mrs. Tayloe saw it, and her hospitable soul 
forgot for a moment they were soldiers hunting 
for her boy. They were some other mother’s 
boys, and she came forward in her sweet, gracious 
way, full of such quiet dignity that the rudest 
boor would have felt its power. “It is very 
cold,” she said, interrupting them as they stood 
talking together at the door ; “ will not you gen- 
tlemen have a cup of coffee ? ” The Lieutenant 
and his Sergeant drew back a little, as if they 


“ Bobbie.” 


had not heard aright. They had read a great 
deal about Southern hospitality, but it quite upset 
them to be offered it under such circumstances. 
Sallie Tom had drawn Dorothy aside, and was 
saying something in an undertone ; but the latter 
had heard Mrs. Tayloe’s question, and she an- 
swered it for them. 

“Of course they will,” she broke in. “I’m 
sure they are hungry and thirsty too, and I 
know they will have some supper after we 
get through the search ; but we must do that 
first. Sallie Tom will lead the way, the gentle- 
men will follow, and Anne and I will bring up 
the rear.” 

Laughingly they left the room, and faithfully 
did Sallie Tom pilot them into every nook and 
corner. Every closet was opened and every big 
box explored. Those left down-stairs in the 
library listened with beating hearts and strained 
ears to every step, and when at last they were 
heard mounting the garret stairs Mrs. Taylor 

sank helplessly in her chair and buried her face 

95 


s 


“ Bobbie/* 


in her hands. Down through the halls sounded 
the apparently merry laughter of the girls, joined 
in now and then by the two young officers, who 
were becoming momentarily more and more im- 
pressed that they were making guys of them- 
selves, and were being laughed at good-naturedly 
for their pains. Notwithstanding all this, how- 
ever, very faithfully they performed their part, 
and not a nook lacked investigation. When they 
reached the garret stairs Sallie Tom began to 
mount as unconcernedly as she had shown every 
other part of the house. She held her lamp high 
in hand and clattered noisily up the steps, as if 
to give fair warning to the men hidden in the loft 
that their very breath must be held during the 
search. The men followed a little indifferently. 
It was evident they were having their trouble for 
nothing, and they were anxious to get through. 
Anne and Dorothy, following behind, looked at 
each other with white faces. Surely the beating 
of their hearts would be heard if they stopped 


96 


“ Bobbie.” 


laughing and talking. The farce must be kept 
up a little longer. 

“I suppose this is where the family ghosts are 
kept,” said the younger of the two men, as they 
began to mount the steps. “ I should think, how- 
ever, they would soon be pretty well frozen out 
up here.” 

“Not a bit of it,” answered Dorothy, laughing 
a little recklessly, “ we have some most interest- 
ing cases in the family, and this is their principal 
scene of action. This is my first visit up here 
after dark since I was so frightened when a child. 
It always gives me the creeps to think of the 
place at night.” 

“ Then we feel highly honored at your presence 
with us,” answered the Lieutenant, making a pro- 
found bow, as they reached the landing at the top 
of the steps. “ I wish I knew some of these 
wonderful ghost stories that I hear are peculiar 
to this part of the country, and I would give 
something pretty to see one of your ghosts.” 

Sallie Tom pushed open the door, and they all 
97 


7 Bjbb;e ” 


“ Bobbie.” 


entered. The long, low-pitched room with its 
four dormer windows, stretched out into huge 
weird dimensions as they stood silently for a 
moment looking around, and then the men slipped 
farther in. Sallie Tom followed and held her 
lamp high in hand, and the light fell so as to 
cause the opening to the loft to be cast in such a 
shadow that it could not be distinguished from 
the rest of the wall. All around the room were 
great packing-trunks and cases, and from ropes 
stretched from side to side hung various pieces 
of old clothing and bed covering. The room was 
completely dark save for the stream of light cast 
by the lamp, and a gruesome, uncanny feeling 
crept over them all, as the men wandered around 
the room, poking behind this and that, and turn- 
ing over old broken chairs and odd bits of furni- 
ture. Anne touched Dorothy on the arm and 
pointed to a sheet near by. 

“Let’s frighten them,” she whispered. “I’m 
positive that little yellow-haired thing smells a 

rat ; he’ll find that hole in the wall yet.'’ 

98 


“ Bobbie.” 


Dorothy nodded and clutched Sallie Tom by 
the dress. She pointed to Anne, who was softly 
drawing the sheet towards her. “ Playing ghost ! ” 
she muttered under her breath ; “ you shriek and 
run with the lamp.” 

Dorothy walked over to the two officers and 
began to talk. “ This used to be our happy 
hunting-ground when we were children,” she 
began ; “ we always played up here on rainy 
days, and such dressing in antique garments I 
am sure you have never seen — unless,” she 
added, politely, “you had a similar garret to 
play in.” They were getting dangerously near 
the entrance to the loft. “We got frightened 
by what we thought was a ghost once, and we 
never cared to play here again. What — what, 
oh, what is that ! ” she cried, clutching the sleeve 
of one of the men. A terrific shriek from Sallie 
Tom, as she rushed wildly down the steps with 
the lamp, made their blood run cold. “Oh, 
Lordy, Lord Cord A’mighty ! ” she yelled, pitch- 
ing like something wild, on, down, down, until 


“ Bobbie.” 


she reached the library. “ De ghostes done come 
like de trumpet bin a’blowed,” she shrieked. 
“ Oh, Lord, don’t mix us up wid dem inturferin’ 
Yankees. Lord A’ mighty, hab mercy on us, 
dey come a’meddlin’ fust. Oh, Lordy, Lordy ! ” 
they could hear her shriek, but fainter and fainter 
as she neared the room below. The two men 
turned quickly at the terrific sound of Sallie 
Tom’s voice, and though the room was inky 
black save for the dim rays that came from the 
dormer windows, they saw creeping towards 
them a flapping, white-winged object. Both of 
them caught Dorothy with one hand, while with 
the other they grasped their pistols. A muffled 
laugh broke from under the sheet, and in a 
second it was dropped and Anne shook it off 
gaily. “Now confess you were frightened,” she 
cried, merrily. “ I do believe you were going to 
shoot me. I didn’t think of that when I put the 
sheet on, but that is why I dropped it in such 
a hurry. Did you ever hear such a shriek as 
Sallie Tom gave? She’ll never forgive me for 

' IOO 


“ Bobbie.” 


this — she’s such a firm believer in ‘ ghostes.’ I 
wish she had left the lamp behind ; it’s as dark as 
Egypt up here, and I’m almost frozen.” Dorothy 
had dropped down on the top of a chest, and 
apparently was quivering in every limb. The 
men broke into a relieved laugh as they put their 
pistols back into their belts. 

“ It was pretty cold up here before the ghost 
appeared,” said the Lieutenant, “but it makes 
me hot all over to think how near I came to 
shooting you. Great heaven ! suppose I had ! ” 
The man’s voice shook in spite of himself, and he 
wiped his face with his handkerchief. 

“You’re a plucky ghost,” said the Sergeant, 
still trying to get his pistol fixed in his belt, “and 
I’m honest enough to acknowledge you frightened 
me silly.” His blood was still tingling from the 
touch of Dorothy’s hands — he wanted to get down 
to the light where he could see her face again, 
and he made a move towards the door. Dorothy 
was laughing now, a little foolishly. 

“ It was stupid in me to think it was really a 

I OI 


“ Bobbie.” 


ghost,” she said, rather apologetically, “but Anne 
ought not to have frightened us like that. Are 
you gentlemen through?” she added, “ or shall 
I call Sallie Tom to bring back the lamp ? ” 

“I don’t think she would come if you called,” 
answered the Lieutenant. “I guess we have 
taxed your patience quite long enough. Can I 
help you down the steps?” He turned to Anne 
as he spoke and held out his hand to lead her 
down. The Sergeant did the same for Dorothy, 
and soon they were back in the library, where 
amidst much laughter they explained the cause of 
Sallie Tom’s flight. “She is out in the kitchen 
now, trying to get supper,” said Mrs. Tayloe, 
breathing freely once more ; “but I don’t believe 
you can persuade her you are not the genuine 
article, my dear.” She pressed Anne by the 
hand, and the latter understood the signal. 
“ Poor old Sallie Tom,” she answered, getting 
up, “ I must go and make peace with her, or we 
won’t have anything much for supper, I’m afraid, 
and I’m simply, absolutely starving.” She went 

I QO 


“ Bobbie/’ 


out of the room with a mock courtesy, and they 
heard her calling to Sallie Tom to “look out ! the 
‘ crhostes ’ were comincr ! ” And then the kitchen 
door banged. 


103 


CHAPTER X. 


T was not a difficult matter to per- 
suade the men to stay to supper. 
Old Uncle Lias kept piling up the 
fire, and the scene was so home- 
like — and then it was Christmas night ! 

“You thought you were going to frighten us 
with your armed force/’ said Dorothy to the Ser- 
geant, who managed to keep near her, “but I 
know you have only four men outside, and it’s a 
shame to keep them on their horses on such a 
bitter night.” She walked over to the window 
and looked out. “ It is snowing furiously ! Why 
don’t you let them come in and have some sup- 
per ? I should hate to have any of our men out- 
side of warmth and shelter to-night,” she added, 
wondering miserably where Bobbie then was. 
“Ask the Lieutenant to let them come in.” The 

Sergeant looked at her curiously ; surely she 
104 



“ Bobbie.” 


could not be scheming. He walked over to the 
Lieutenant and repeated Dorothy’s request. They 
talked it over for awhile, and then the Lieutenant 
accepted the invitation with thanks. The men 
outside were men of his own class, and at least 
would appreciate the courtesy of being asked 
in, and the superior officer had made up his mind 
to stay and see something more of that ghost, if 
possible. 

Women are nearly always good actors, and 
even the prim Misses Rutherfoord and the proper 
Miss Trent nervously tried to appear in sympathy 
with the reckless gayety of Dorothy and Anne, 
who, when the other four young men came in, 
received them as they would have done the 
acquaintances of old friends, and the dining-room 
became a scene of genuine Christmas cheer. 
Dorothy’s hands shook as she handed first one 
and then another dainty cup to their very much 
mixed-up guests ; and if at times her laughter was 
a little unusually gay for her, it was the only way 
she could keep back the tears which treacherously 

105 


“ Bobbie/’ 


hung under her lashes. This was to have been 
her wedding night, she thought bitterly, between 
the sharp, witty sayings which kept them all con- 
vulsively laughing, and under the table she would 
press her hands together in an agony of terror, 
as the thought of what might possibly have hap- 
pened came over her. She was doing all this to 
save him. Peter Black she knew was hidden 
down in the woods by the road Bobbie must 
pass. They were to go to Sallie Tom’s cabin 
and stay there until they heard from her. That 
was the message she had sent, and now every 
moment was precious, yet she could not hurry 
lest suspicions be aroused. Sallie Tom was still 
snorting over the fright of the ghost, nevertheless 
her supper was in no wise injured, and when she 
finally brought in a huge punch bowl filled to the 
brim with luscious, foaming eggnog, she was 
greeted by a clapping of hands. 

“ Dis heah is suppin’ what you ain’t seen of en, 
I reckon,” she said to one of the soldiers, as she 

put it down on the table with an air of supreme 

106 



io7 




“ Bobbie.” 


satisfaction, “ dis heah am de genuine artickle 
itsef, ain’t no rnek-believe ’bout dis,” she con- 
tinued, stirring the contents with a handsome old 
silver ladle. “ Dis am de stuff what de quality 
folks all drink in de Souf at Christmus times, and 
de missus she low’d we mus’ all hav some to- 
night, even if all de men folks am away,” She 
added the last mournfully, and as Dorothy took 
the ladle out of her hands, she pressed Sallie 
Tom’s fingers in such a way that the latter under- 
stood, and shortly afterwards left the room. 

If the Yankee soldiers had never tried it before, 
they made up for lost opportunities, and though 
the reverend parson walked restlessly up and 
down the room, holding his only partly touched 
glass in his hand, he dared not utter the protest 
that his conscience told him under other circum- 
stances he should, and Dorothy and Anne, with 
a silent prayer for forgiveness, filled again and 
again the glasses of the men with the foamy* 
seductive stuff, and good cheer was being widely 
disseminated when Sallie Tom entered again. 


“ Bobbie.” 


She touched Dorothy’s dress in passing, and 
began to break some more eggs to show the 
strangers how it was made, but Anne had them 
now at the piano, and song after song she struck 
up and led. Her clear soprano voice was joined 
in hilariously by every soldier in the room, and 
even timidly by the Misses Rutherfoord and 
the Miles children. Presently Uncle Lias, sent 
by Sallie Tom, came in with his old banjo and 
began a jig, and such an uproariously gay time 
they were having that they did not hear the soft 
click of the door or notice that Dorothy was back 
in the room, her face flushed and lips quivering, 
or that Mrs. Tayloe was missing. Sallie Tom’s 
cordial had done its work well. The men were 
gloriously happy and magnanimously inclined to- 
wards the whole Southern army much more these 
charming Southern women, and the good old 
parson with his two pair of twins. Anne caught 
Dorothy’s eye and banged louder and louder, 
then some one proposed the Virginia Reel. Miss 
Trent took Anne’s place at the piano, and though 


“ Bobbie.” 


navigation was a treacherous thing for some of 
the boys in blue, still they bravely stood up and 
went through it heroically, making a terrible clat- 
ter with their feet and hands to the music, and 
through all Anne and Dorothy were the wildest, 
gayest in the crowd. Romping, noisy games 
followed each other in quick succession, during 
which Dorothy managed repeatedly to slip by 
one of the windows and stealthily look out. 
Finally she was satisfied, and then she declared 
herself worn out, and the Rev. Doctor Miles, 
with whom every now and then she had contrived 
to catch a few words, understood it was time to 
go, and the soldiers immediately took the hint. 
They were gentlemen, and by no means inclined 
to presume upon the privileges of war ; and when 
he asked them in his nervous, timid way if it 
would be safe for him to venture home with so 
many ladies in charge, they gallantly offered 
their services as escort, though assuring him the 
road was perfectly safe so far as their men were 
concerned. 


i io 


“ Bobbie.” 


“ There is not apt to be much prying around 
on such a night as this,” the Lieutenant added, 
shivering a little as he went out in the hall, “but 
I know it is one we shall never forget,” and he 
bowed low over the hand Mrs. Tayloe held out 
to him. “We have all heard of Southern hospi- 
tality, of course, but we hardly expected to enjoy 
it under the present condition of things. I can 
only assure you, madam, you will never regret 
it.” He looked at Anne as he spoke, and held 
out his hand to her. “When all this is over,” he 
whispered, “this beastly war, I mean, will you 
scorn to know a man who fought on the other 
side ? ” 

“I never scorn an honest man,” she answered, 
“even if he is a Yankee soldier,” she added, 
laughing. “Good-bye.” She touched his hand 
lightly, and drew back into the room. The 
horses pawed the ground and turned restlessly 
round and round. The Mileses and Rutherfoords 
and Trents piled hastily in their sleighs, and only 

the Sergeant stood at the door, telling Dorothy 
hi 


“ Bobbie.” 


again and again good-bye. The eggnog had 
been too much for him, and his tone took a senti- 
mental air as he held her hand for a second. 

“I say,” he whispered, “don’t tell the Lieu- 
tenant, but I’m mighty glad we didn’t catch that 
fellow, and if I ever run across him again I won’t 
know him ! Good-bye, good-bye, you little 
Southern witch, good-bye.” 

At last they were gone. The muffled sound 
of their horses’ hoofs, together with their laugh- 
ter, could be heard for a few moments only, and 
then came still, intense, impenetrable silence. 

Dorothy was back in the library for one brief 
minute. “ Keep the lights up, and the house 
just as it is, until I get back,” she said, hurriedly, 
“Thank God, they got out safely,” she added, 
turning to Mrs. Tayloe, and giving her a swift, 
tender kiss. “ Did anybody miss me ? I was 
wild with terror lest they would suspect some- 
thing, but I knew their only chance was to get 
out during the noise and romping. I shall tell 
them good-bye for you all. No, no ! No one 


“ Bobbie. ’’ 


must go.” She was hastily wrapping herself up 
as she talked, and when Sallie Tom appeared at 
the door, heavily muffled about the head and 
face, they crept out together into the bitter, bitter 
night. 

It was a good half-mile down to the quarters, 
but already they could see through the darkness 
a tiny light, and they struggled on through the 
snow, almost falling in a drift, then up and on 
again. Neither spoke. The reaction was begin- 
ning to tell on Dorothy, and her strength was 
tested to the utmost. Much was yet to be done, 
however, and she bit her lips almost to the blood, 
lest she should give some sign of how she suf- 
fered. The snow muffled the sound of their 
coming, and while Sallie Tom knocked softly at 
the door, Dorothy leaned heavily against it. In 
a moment it was opened, and the men sprang 
forward to catch her, as she almost fell inside. 
“I’m all right,” she cried. “Shut the door quick. 
You have not a moment to lose. Are the horses 
ready ? ” 

8 -“Bobbie” I 13 


“ Bobbie.” 


Bobbie took her up in his arms, as if she were 
a little child, and put her in front of the fire. 
“ Where is Dr. Miles ? ” he asked, hoarsely. 
“ Didn’t you bring him ? I have the license here 
in my pocket. We must be married before I 
leave you. Don’t tell me ! ” — . The look on 
her face stopped him ; and the reckless young 
soldier, who had faced death a hundred times 
without a quiver, turned away, lest she should 
see the bitter pain of this defeat. The two older 
men stood aside ; this was too sacred even for 
them. Sallie Tom was outside, helping Peter 
Black with the horses, and only the sputtering of 
the logs broke the sorrowful stillness that fell 
upon them all. Presently Bobbie stooped over 
and kissed her. “ I know all about it. We have 
been outwitted to-night ; but I swear here, in the 
presence of you all, that, if it is not possible be- 
fore, then on next Christmas night nothing but 
Almighty God himself shall keep me from claim- 
ing my wife ! I shall keep this ” — and he touched 
the license in his pocket — “whenever I come, will 


“ Bobbie.’* 


you be ready?” She nodded without speaking, 
and silently they each bent and kissed her good- 
bye, and through the stillness she heard the 
muffled sounds of their horses’ hoofs upon the 
snow, and upon her heart lay the despair of utter 
desolation. 


CHAPTER XL 


HE days that followed were very 
dreary ones. Little by little the 
resources gave out, and actual, 
positive hunger began to be felt 
on every side. “ White Point ’’ reflected the life of 
the county ; and while much of the real condition 
of things was kept from Mrs. Tayloe, lest her 
sorrowing heart could not bear the strain upon 
it, yet even she knew how necessary it was to 
count every mouthful eaten. Anne and Dorothy 
kept up the spirits of the people until in August, 
when the terrible sorrow came, and Dorothy sat 
like one stunned and crushed by its force. They 
brought his body home ; and not until she knelt 
over it and saw the almost rapturous smile upon 
his face did she realize that to grieve would be 
selfish indeed ; that he was at last “ at home ” — at 
last “ with her ! ” The shock of her father’s death 



“ Bobbie.” 


for a while broke almost her brave spirit. It was 
a glorious death, Bobbie wrote her. It grieved 
him beyond words of telling that he could not be 
with her in her sorrow, but more than ever was 
he needed, and not for even one single day could 
he get leave. 

After they buried him, right next to her mother, 
the old routine of life became almost unendurable. 
She could not leave “White Point,” her duty 
kept her there, and yet how she longed for 
work — hard, continuous, ceaseless work — that 
she might not think. Anne’s cheerful, buoyant 
nature was a helpful tonic, and Dorothy struggled 
hard to be brave. Always Anne had something 
funny to tell of that “ good-looking Lieutenant,” 
with whose movements, in some mysterious way, 
she seemed to keep well posted ; and she made 
Dorothy take hold of life again, and in doing for 
others, her own pain became a little dulled. 

The weeks dragged into months, and still 
Bobbie had never gotten back. Way off in a 
distant part of the country he had been in active 


“ Bobbie.” 


service, and his name had become a familiar one 
in the army, and they loved him there as they 
had loved him in his home as a boy, and over the 
camp-fires at night many a tale was told of his 
daring and skill as a soldier, and his gentle touch 
as a nurse when the day was done. 

Ten days had gone by and no sign or word 
had Dorothy received, and Christmas-eve had 
come again. To no one had she ever spoken of 
the vow made down in Sallie Tom’s cabin a year 
ago, but all through the dreary days she had 
cherished it in her heart. Anne Carter was to 
spend the holidays at “White Point,” and in 
obedience to her, and with the secret hope that 
he would yet come, she had helped with the old- 
time decorations of Christmas green. Her sorrow 
must not make the others sad, she thought, and 
with brave unselfishness she tried hard to forget 
herself in them. For the first time since the 
Christmas a year ago, when they had all been 
home, she made Uncle Lias make a big fire in 
the library. The dining-room was also bright 



“ ‘ I never scorn an lionest man,’ 


she answered.” 


u 9 







“ Bobbie.” 


with a cherry glow, and she walked from first one 
window to the other watching the scene outside. 
The snow lay cold and deep and white, but the 
night was beautifully clear. The moon was 
shining almost magically upon the frozen earth, 
touching the trees with mystic splendor in their 
crystal decorations, and all the air was still, so 
still that the faintest echo could be heard. 

The time dragged on and still no sign came, 
or was given by Dorothy of what was so intensely 
filling her heart. Mrs. Tayloe sat in her accus- 
tomed place by the fire, but the weary hands 
failed to knit so rapidly as of old, and the sad, 
strained look upon her face told better than 
words of that of which she could not speak. 

Anne worked hard to keep up the spirit of 
the season, and when to their intense surprise 
they heard the sound of bells outside and saw 
the Rev. Dr. Miles and family drive up, all felt a 
great relief. “ I’ve come to bring good luck to 
you,” he said, shaking hands with Dorothy in his 

understanding, sympathetic way. “ There’s no 

120 


“ Bobbie.” 


telling when these boys will turn up,” he added, 
trying to speak cheerfully, “ so I thought I would 
come over and be on hand in case I was needed,” 
and the dear old parson patted her hands ten- 
derly and softly. Everybody tried to be pleasant 
and look natural and easy, but it was a dismal 
failure, and when the clock struck ten Dorothy 
could stand it no longer. She slipped out on the 
long veranda at the back of the house, and leaned 
wearily upon one of its tall, straight columns. 
Down-stairs in the servants’ room Uncle Lias 
was playing softly on his old violin. The last 
notes of the “Suwannee River” died away upon 
the air, and then he began, low and soft and sad, 
the old, sweet song that almost broke her heart, 
“ Home, Home, Home, Sweet Home,” quivered 
out upon the still frosty air, and such a longing 
for the old life that was gone, such a craving for 
the one she loved so well, came over her that 
she slipped down in the snow, and leaning against 
the railing buried her face in her hands, and 
prayed Him who alone could understand, to give 


I 2 I 


“ Bobbie.” 


back her home to her — for Bobbie was her home, 
her life, her all. She felt something fall and 
touch her dress, and looked up hastily ; no sound 
broke the air — only that longing cry, “ Home, 
Home, Home, Sweet Home,” yet she strained 
her eyes in the darkness ; surely that was a 
shadow moving under the trees — a little bullet 
fell at her feet — she jumped up hurriedly and in 
a flash she knew. Down through the snow she 
fled, and out upon the air sounded softer and 
fainter: “Be it ever so humble, there’s no place 
like home.” She reached the tree and staggered, 
and Bobbie caught her — caught her and held her 
close. “I swore I’d come if alive,” he said, 
brokenly, “and I’m here, though at the last 
minute I came near missing it. Is it all right 
at the house?” He leaned against the tree 
through utter weakness, and Dorothy could only 
nod affirmatively to his question — the sudden joy 
had checked the power of speech. “ I’ve brought 
some one with me I didn’t intend,” Bobbie went 
on. “We came near putting an end to each 


122 


“ Bobbie.” 


other, but stopped in time.” He nodded at a 
man standing back in the shadow, and the latter 
came forward and held his cap in his hand. 

“ I know it is very presumptuous,” he said, 
looking straight in Dorothy’s face, “but I was 
bound to see that ghost again, and I risked it.” 

In sheer excess of happiness she held out her 
hands. “It’s the Lieutenant,” she cried; “don’t 
you know it’s the one who wanted you last year — 
Oh, Bobbie ! Bobbie ! ” 


# Sfc *** * S& 

There was a wedding after all — the queerest, 
strangest, happiest wedding old Rockland county 
ever had recorded in its books. Bobbie was 
faint and weak from lack of food and rest, and 
like some strange wonder that had come into 
their midst, they hovered over and waited on him 
while he told of how for forty-eight hours he had 
ridden night and day to reach there in time. 
“ Father is on the way,” he went on, while Sallie 
Tom held out “jis a little drap of suppin warm 


Bobbie.” 


for him.” “ I left him down by the old mill. He 
and Peter Black stopped for a few minutes to 
attend to something. It was after I left father 
that I met this gentleman,” and he nodded to- 
ward the Lieutenant, “ and it’s lucky we’re both 
not out on the road. Both fired and missed, and 
something made me ask where he was going and 
who he was (Bobbie’s voice got a little husky), 
and I thought I’d better not fire again. And now 
when father comes you will marry me, Dorothy ? ” 
He asked the question before them all, looking 
steadfastly in her face, while he took the license 
out of his pocket and laid it on the table. “ It 
came near being burnt up once,” he said, laugh- 
ing. “ It was a close call, but I told you this 
would save me,” and he held up the little Testa- 
ment which was deeply dented in the middle. 
“The ball glanced off, and I wasn’t hurt. Now, 
mother, what are you crying for ? ” 

When the big master came Sallie Tom got to 
work. The Rev. Dr. Miles couldn’t stay all 
night, but not until Christmas-Day would they 
124 


“ Bobbie.” 


be married. When the clock struck twelve the 
ceremony would take place, and poor Uncle Lias 
couldn’t make the fires quick enough in the big 
parlors, and Peter Black was called here and 
there, just as he had been a year ago. 

“ Bobbie must wear his uniform,” Dorothy 
said. She could marry him in nothing whose 
decorations would make her half so proud as 
would the torn and battered, the faded and worn 
old suit which told of honorable service. She 
whispered something to Bobbie, and the latter 
sprang to his feet. Anne and the Lieutenant 
were freezing away off in one of the big window 
seats, unconscious that they were cold, and 
evidently in a hot discussion. Bobbie walked 
over and saluted. “I believe you are to be 
Dorothy’s bridesmaid, Anne,” he said, looking 
at her provokingly and in a way she didn’t under- 
stand. 

“ Of course I am,” she answered, slipping off 
the seat, “and I’ve got to wear just what I have 
on. To my dying day it will be a mortification. 

125 


“ Bobbie. ,, 


It’s the only decent gown I’ve got, and all on ac- 
count of this man and his friends,” and she 
turned with a merry laugh to the Lieutenant, 
now standing and slightly leaning against the 
window. 

“ I have come to ask him a favor,” answered 
Bobbie, turning toward him also. “Will you do 
me the honor to be my best man, Lieutenant 
Hardwicke ?” and he held out his hand to the 
man in blue. 

The other grasped it warmly. “Tell them 
who I am, for God’s sake, Bobbie. I am proud 
to be a ‘Yankee soldier,’ as she calls me, but tell 
them who else I am.” Anne had dropped into a 
chair, and Bobbie laughed at her look of blank 
astonishment. 

“This is Dick Hardwicke, of Boston, Anne. 
He graduated two terms before I, and though 
he was older and we were not in the same 
classes, we were always good friends while at 
college.” 


126 


41 Bobbie.” 


“And did you come to search for your college 
friend as you would for a thief?” she cried, her 
voice ringing with unutterable scorn, as she rose 
to her feet. 

“Not a bit of it,” he answered, fearlessly. 
“ In open fight we would have had to take the 
chances of this beastly war, but that the Robert 
F. Taylor, as our order read, was our Bobbie 
Tayloe, I no more suspected than you did my 
identity. Do you believe me ? ” She look at 
him a moment searchingly. 

“Yes,” she answered, after a long pause. 
“I hate to do it — but I’m bound to. 


It was just after the clock struck the birth of 
another Christmas-Day that Bobbie led his bride 
into the beautiful parlors, and while they plighted 
their troth with only those around who knew and 
loved them most, Uncle Lias outside the door 
played softly on his old violin the sweet old 
Christmas carol of “ Peace on Earth — Good 


127 


“ Bobbie.” 


Will to Men,” and after it was over the Blue 
and the Grey shook hands together, to the 
intense and unqualified disgust of loyal old 
Sallie Tom. 



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